06/13/12 – In an official press release, the State Attorney General’s Office of Veracruz (Procuraduría General de Justicia de Veracruz) has confirmed the recent discovery of multiple mutilated bodies in an abandoned vehicle, which was found on the Álamo-Potrero del Llano federal highway in Veracruz near the northern border with Tamaulipas at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday, June 11. Local police were dispatched to the site near Rancho Los Cuates where they came upon a white truck with Tamaulipas license plates stuffed with dismembered bodies.
After nearly 12 hours of sifting through the remains, crime scene investigators determined that the parts belonged to 14 separate men. A group of agents belonging to Operation Secure Veracruz (Operativo Veracruz Seguro), a federal security unit assembled to combat organized crime in Veracruz, scoured the area between Veracruz and Tamaulipas immediately following the incident looking for leads. Local police presence was also escalated in the region.
This eastern region of Mexico has been experiencing a wave of escalating violence during the past month. Last week, 14 dismembered bodies–eleven men and three women–were recovered from a freight truck parked along a busy roadside in the town of El Mante in southern Tamaulipas. While the incidents have not been officially linked, both bear the markings of organized crime. Such executions are most likely indicative of a swelling level of conflict between Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, which operate along the routes where both of these mobile mass graves were found.
Sources:
“Abandonan 14 cuerpos en una carretera del norte de Veracruz.” Uniradio Informa. June 12, 2012
“Hallan 14 cuerpos en Veracruz; autoridades confirman.” El Informador. June 12, 2012.
“Hallan 14 muertos en Veracruz.” Ahora Tabasco. June 12, 2012
