‘Massacre’: Dismembered remains of 32 people found in abandoned house in Mexico’s Guanajuato

Dismembered parts of human bodies were found during a search of an abandoned home in the violence-prone Guanajuato state of Mexico, and the state prosecutor’s office said on Monday that 15 people have been identified from the remains, while the identification process for the others is ongoing. Local media reports said the investigators had found body parts stuffed in plastic bags. The regional prosecutor’s office said the remains, discovered during a search for missing people in the city of Irapuato, were in a “fragmented and complex” condition that made the identification process both tough and complicated.

Guanajuato in central Mexico is an industrial hub and is popular for several tourist destinations but is also the country’s deadliest state due to gang turf wars, as per official homicide statistics.

Guanajuato recorded over 3,100 murders last year

In June, 11 people were killed and about 20 others injured in a shooting targeting a neighbourhood party in Irapuato, while in May, 17 bodies were found in an abandoned house in the same city by investigators.

As per official figures, Guanajuato recorded over 3,100 murders last year, accounting for 10.5 per cent of homicide cases nationwide. It also had about 3,600 cases of missing persons out of the 120,000 countrywide.

The violence in Guanajuato is mostly linked to the conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the most powerful in the Latin American nation.

‘We hope to find our loved ones’

Relatives of missing persons, who belong to a collective called “Hasta encontrarte” (“Until I find you”), visited the site on Monday, hoping for news of their loved ones or fresh evidence.

“We hope to find our loved ones,” said a woman who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

“It’s been many years, and we still know nothing. When these mass graves are found, we want to be present,” said an AFP report, quoting the woman.