By In a grim discovery, volunteer searchers have found what they believe to be a clandestine crematorium on the outskirts of Mexico City, shedding light on the ongoing crisis of missing persons in the country. The discovery marks the first time in recent memory that such a body disposal site has been reported in the capital.
Ceci Flores, a leader of one of the “searching mothers” groups from northern Mexico, announced on social media that her team had discovered bones around a charred pit in a rural area on the city’s south side. In addition to the bones, the team also found clandestine burial pits, ID cards, and children’s notebooks at the site.
Mexico City prosecutors have launched an investigation to determine the nature of the remains and whether they are human. The discovery, if confirmed, would be a significant embarrassment for the ruling party, which has long governed Mexico City and claims that the capital has been largely spared from the drug cartel violence that plagues other parts of the country.
Volunteer searchers like Flores often conduct their own investigations, relying on tips from former criminals, as the government has been unable to provide adequate assistance. These searchers, mostly mothers of the disappeared, are driven by a desire to find the remains of their loved ones rather than seeking convictions for the abductions.
The Mexican government has been criticized for its lack of support in the search for the missing. Volunteers are often left to stand in for nonexistent official search teams, and the government has not adequately funded or implemented a genetic database to help identify the remains that are found.
The discovery in Mexico City follows other recent findings of clandestine graves in the country. In March, a group of relatives searching for missing loved ones discovered around two dozen bags containing human remains at a ranch in El Salto, Jalisco. In February 2023, authorities exhumed 31 bodies from two clandestine graves in the same region.
The ongoing crisis of missing persons in Mexico has taken a toll on the families of the disappeared. In 2018, a woman named Maria told CBS News that she joined a group of volunteers to search for the remains of her son, who she witnessed being abducted off the street and thrown into a white van.
As the number of missing persons in Mexico surpasses 100,000, the discovery of the clandestine crematorium and burial pits in Mexico City serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for increased government support and resources in the search for the disappeared.
Credit: CBSNews.com
