Officials find a grave in Mexico: NPR

The Mexican authorities claim to have found a clandestine grave containing the remains of at least 166 people in the state of Veracruz – the last mass grave in a place marked by disappearances, drug cartels at war and government-sponsored violence.

The Attorney General of Veracruz, Jorge Winckler, said Thursday at a press conference that the site had been discovered after a witness notified the authorities about a month ago.

Since then, investigators have discovered at least 166 skulls, he said. They too found 200 clothing and other personal items, including more than 100 pieces of identity. More can be discovered.

Winckler would not disclose the location of the graves, citing unspecified security reasons. The investigators located the remains with drones and radar.

The bodies were buried at least two years ago, he said.

His office did not immediately respond to NPR's requests for comment.

More than 35,000 people have disappeared in Mexico, including nearly 9,000 women and 6,300 minors, according to the National Missing and Missing Persons Data Registry.

This burial place is not the first mass grave discovered in the state of Veracruz. Two years ago, family members were frustrated by the government's inaction and decided to search for loved ones. They found more than 250 bodies buried in an abandoned lot.

Griselda Barradas, the mother of a young investigator whose remains were found on the site, told Carrie Kahn, of NPR: "My son thought he was going to clean the country of these villains. But no, they got rid of him.

Winckler told the media that the site was probably used with the complicity of state officials.

It is thought that many mass graves of the state are linked to the former governor, Javier Duarte. He has been extradited from Guatemala to Mexico and is now behind bars while waiting for a corruption trial.

"This is the latest confirmation of the degree of impunity of the drug gangs operating in Veracruz during Duarte's government, which has allowed this to happen," Wall Street Journal official Maria Elena Morera, chief of A defense group called Causa en Comun.

Duarte denied wrongdoing.

Veracruz is also home to one of Mexico's largest and oldest ports, and drug gangs like the Jalisco New Generation cartel and the Zetas have been fighting bloody battles to control the territory.

Winckler said Thursday that relatives of the missing persons had not been invited to participate in the August excavation "for security reasons and to ensure the success of the investigation". Instead, he said, they will be shown a catalog with photos of items recovered from the grave to help identify the victims.

This decision upset some members of the family of missing persons.

"I do not trust the Attorney General, the agency," said activist Lucia Diaz of Colectivo Solecito, based in Mexico. She stated that she thought that 166 bodies could not be excavated properly in a short time "without the help of the federal police".

Winckler did not help them as they spent two years digging the other grave in Veracruz, digging five days a week, she said. "There is a history of bad relationships between us because he isolated us, he does not talk to us – the mothers."