Ten bodies with signs of torture were found on an abandoned rural property in Zacatecas Tuesday.
According to security sources the bodies were discovered in a clandestine grave. Police were acting on reports of criminal activity through an anonymous tip from a member of the public.
The property is located in the community of González Ortega, better known as Machines, located 18 kilometers from Zacatecas city. It is near a ranch owned by former governor Miguel Alonso Reyes.
The state government confirmed an investigation was underway. “At this time, the state Attorney General’s Office is carrying out the investigation to identify the bodies, in order to determine their sex, identity and cause of death,” it said in a statement.
According to the National Public Security System (SENSP), Zacatecas recorded the highest rate in the country of intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the first half of the year at 52.21.
Baja California was a close second with 51.3 followed by Colima with 40.89, Chihuahua with 38.73, and Guanajuato with 35.40.
The daily homicide report released by the federal government recorded 323 murders in Zacatecas from August 1-September 1o.
The state is in the midst of a territorial battle between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), although organized crime has not yet been implicated in this case.
The newly inaugurated governor, David Monreal, addressed the wave of violence when he was sworn in on Sunday. He said violence had increased and that the state’s finances were in peril. “Public security is in its worst moment … the finances of municipalities are in disorder. Our state is dying,” he said.
