Mass Grave of 113 People Discovered in Mexican Town that is Under Drug Cartel Influence

Law enforcement in El Salto, Mexico discovered a mass grave of 113 bodies earlier this week.

This discovery took place in territory run by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s deadliest cartels. The Daily Star reported that “the harrowing discovery was made by cops, who found the bodies dismembered with skulls scattered in separate bags.”

According to a revelation by prosecutor Gerardo Octavio, only 30 out of the 113 were identified so far. The Mirror Online claims that this territory is run by CJNG drug kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.

The Mexican state of Jalisco has been the epicenter of mass grave discoveries in Mexico since 2006. From 2006 until the present, 867 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves. In addition, the state has the highest number of missing persons in the last two years — 3,568 in total — per a report from the Mexican Ministry of the Interior.

In the neighboring state of Guanajuato, 60 bodies were found in another mass grave in the town of Salvatierra.

The Mexican Army and National Guard were present during the excavation out of fear that civilian personnel would be potentially in danger.

On November 23, 2020, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador denied that Mexico had come to an agreement about arresting a cartel leader for the U.S. in exchange for the return of ex-Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos from U.S. custody.

In the last week, Mexico reportedly reached an agreement with U.S. Attorney General William Barr to make an attempt at arresting a prominent Mexican drug cartel leader in an effort to have drug trafficking charges against Cienfuegos dropped. Cienfuegos is currently facing U.S. charges for drug trafficking. 

With Biden assuming the presidency, border security will become an afterthought. As Mexico becomes less stable, the concept of having a strong border becomes more crucial. However, the Biden administration will in all likelihood keep the borders loose, which in turn will allow cartels and other criminal actors to come in and destabilize the U.S.