MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Mexico’s attorney general vowed to uncover the truth about what happened at a suspected drug cartel training ground where bones and clothing were found, as international calls mounted for a transparent investigation.
The extensive evidence meant that the “truth will come out” about the grisly discovery at a ranch in Teuchitlan in the western state of Jalisco, Alejandro Gertz told a news conference.
Gertz, whose office is preparing to take over the case, listed multiple flaws in the initial investigation overseen by the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office, including a failure to thoroughly search the site, which is thought to have been used to train forced recruits.
The top prosecutor said he would investigate whether the irregularities were the result of incompetence or a possible connection between authorities and criminals, in a country where more than 120,000 people are missing.
He also confirmed the arrest of a police chief from a town neighbouring Teuchitlan for alleged links to organised crime.
Gertz said that “small pieces” of bones were found at the site, but that it was not yet confirmed how many people died.
The Izaguirre Ranch was searched last September following clashes between the military and suspected members of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficking groups, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States (US).
According to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office, 10 people were arrested, two captives freed and a dead body found along with skeletal remains at the time.
This month, a group of families – searching for people who disappeared – discovered more buried bones, dozens of shoes, clothing and other objects that apparently went unnoticed during the initial search.
The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office last week called for “thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations” into the apparent crimes.
It said it was “disturbing” that crucial evidence was missed during the initial searches.
New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Mexican authorities to conduct “a thorough and impartial investigation” into what it described as an apparent mass killing site.
