A MASS grave has been found at a suspected extermination camp during a family’s desperate search for a missing person in Mexico.
At the horrifying scene, three ovens and burned bodies were discovered alongside piles of personal items such as 400 pairs of shoes, clothes, jewelry, and diaries.
A private volunteer group, in search of missing family members in Jalisco, Mexico, stumbled upon the disturbing crematorium located on a ranch in Teuchitlán, approximately 90 miles east of Puerto Vallarta.
The nonprofit Guerreros Buscadores collective went to the remote area after a call from an unnamed informant on March 5.
“We found the place because we had received several anonymous calls,” Indira Navarro, a member of the search group, told AFP.
“We found charred remains, remains of charred human bodies in graves.”
Bones, bullet casings, and magazines were found at the burial site, which was reportedly a training center for organized crime.
The notorious Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación gang is believed to be behind the secret extermination camp, cops said.
Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz addressed the horrific find on Tuesday, insisting they will investigate and find answers.
“This is a very critical and serious issue,” Gertz said at a press conference.
“It is unbelievable that a situation of this nature would not have been known to the local authorities of that municipality and the state.”
Cops confirmed they found three cremation furnaces used by the CJNG when searching the site.
Members of the National Guard also swarmed the warehouse to investigate the piles of clothing items, jewelry, backpacks, and suitcases.
A total of 400 pairs of shoes were left abandoned, according to the Latin Times.
Haunting footage from the property showed investigators searching through the dumped shoes.
The personal items are believed to have belonged to victims who were kidnapped and killed at the death camp, which is known as Izaguirre Ranch.
HAUNTING GRAVE SITE FINDS
One disturbing find at the ranch was a handwritten letter believed to have been written by one of the victims.
“My love, if one day I never return, I only ask that you remember how much I love you and say, ‘My anger, tantrum, and jealousy are gone.'” it read.
Investigators also found a Bible with three pictures of children.
“These photos found at the Teuchitlán ranch may be a sign of hope for some family,” the collective said, according to the Daily Mail.
“Mom or dad was carrying them, and they were found nestled in the middle of a Bible.”
Searchers also found a notebook with a page featuring the nicknames of 54 victims.
Cops said the list was grouped by 10 people at a time.
Officials haven’t confirmed the names of the victims.
Jalisco is the Mexican state with the highest number of missing people, according to the National Search Commission.
Nearly 15,000 are missing in the state.
The current situation in Mexico is tense, with cartels now being identified as affiliates of terrorist organizations. There is a prevailing uncertainty about how the Mexican cartels will respond. The region has witnessed a surge in violence, further complicating the situation.
Stacy Zinn
It comes as President Donald Trump’s ironclad approach against Mexican drug cartels has forced the country’s government to come down hard on powerful criminal syndicates.
Trump’s executive order designated eight Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Plus, his tariff threats against Mexico sparked measures against fentanyl production in Sinaloa state, the home of the Sinaloa Cartel, the most powerful gang.
The government has since enacted arrests, extraditions, and drug lab busts and seizures.
Nearly 30 suspected cartel figures are being handed over to the United States, including former Guadalajara Cartel boss Rafael Caro Quintero and former Juarez drug cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
However, now the rival gangs are left battling for power in tourist hotspots with the major players out of the picture – and the remaining criminals attempting to establish their new place in the crime world.
WARNING TO SPRING BREAKERS
A former Drug Enforcement Agent warned The U.S. Sun the crackdown might put Spring Breakers in Mexico in danger.
Stacy Zinn, a retired DEA official who spent nearly 23 years at the agency, said vacation hubs like Cancun are prime real estate for drug trafficking because of their shipping docks.
This invites violence for Americans visiting the Mexico locations because they might get caught in the violent crossfire of criminal organizations.
“Mexico is a hot potato right now with cartels being labeled as terrorist organization affiliates,” Zinn told The U.S. Sun.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty of how the Mexican cartels are going to react.
“We’ve seen an uptick in violence. There was more of cartel-versus-cartel type situations but Americans or travelers can still get caught up in the crossfire of the rival members, who are trying to establish new boundaries.
Zinn continued, “The more that we arrest individuals and they get extradited back up to the United States, the more of a void it leaves in Mexico, which means that people are going to be dying for positioning and see the uptick.”
