Skeletal Remains Found In Suspected Cartel ‘Kitchen’

A Mexico-based volunteer group found piles of charred bones hidden in two properties in a suspected cartel “extermination” site in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The state’s medical examiner confirmed on August 26 that the group uncovered four skeletal remains and 54 bone fragments in one property alone.
In a second property, the group uncovered 7 “tambos” containers, one of which contained fragments of human remains.
For the Love of the Disappeared Collective (Colectivo Amor por los Desaparecidos), the group that made the harrowing discovery, notified authorities regarding its findings on Monday. The volunteers’ primary focus is searching for missing persons and raising awareness about disappearances.
“Stemming from searches by the collective, state authorities took note of bone fragments exposed to heat in two sites, one near kilometer 85 of the Reynosa-Matamoros highway, the other in Sierrita farm (west) of Matamoros,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.
By being exposed to heat, it means that the bodies were burned. Mexican drug gangs have frequently incinerated bodies in drums or barrels at clandestine cremation sites known as “kitchens.”
These gruesome sites are sometimes called “narco kitchens” or “cocinas” in Spanish, and they serve as makeshift crematoriums where cartels dissolve or burn the bodies of their victims to eliminate evidence of their crimes.
Martha Quintana, a member of the volunteer group, said during a Facebook Live broadcast on Tuesday: “We are at the extermination-by-fire-exposure site. We are going to show some pieces of clothing found at the site to see if anyone can identify them.”
Footage shows discarded metal drums scattered in the brush near an abandoned house. Searchers, wearing surgical gloves, carefully sift through torn clothing, some appearing to be stained with blood.
In Matamoros, violent cartel activity runs rife in the city as the Gulf Cartel is engaged in a turf war with the Los Zetas cartel.
The Gulf Cartel, which runs the region where the remains were found, is one of the oldest organized crime syndicates and drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
The city where the remains were discovered is directly across the U.S.-Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas.
The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Tamaulipas said in a statement: “This office reaffirms its commitment to work with the families in searching and locating the missing persons.”
The Attorney General’s Office said it will conduct DNA testing of the burned remains to identify the victims.
For the Love of the Disappeared Collective helped Mexican police locate 27 hacked corpses hidden in Reynosa last year.
In March, authorities discovered 10 burned bodies in the border state of Nuevo León.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact [email protected]