The notorious Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel is thought to be behind secret crematoriums discovered at a farm in Jalisco, Mexico, where thousands of people are missing
A Mexican drug cartel death camp has been discovered with clandestine crematoriums where hundreds of missing people are thought to have been burned.
The sickening scene was discovered around four hours away from the city of Jalisco, Mexico, in the mountains at a farm after a tip off. Among the ashes were bones, bullet casings, more than 400 items of clothing and at least 200 pairs of shoes.
Authorities believe the massive ranch which covers several acres was used as a training centre for young recruits of the notorious Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG). It is also thought the bodies of kidnap victims were burned there, and reports suggest other people were kept captive on the site. Authorities this week discovered rudimentary ovens buried under the ground which had been built to burn people’s remains.
A young person who managed to escape from the “school of terror” revealed how there was some 200 people kept in inhumane conditions, forced to undergo exercises and fight against each other. Others were ordered to dig holes where they placed a bed of stones, on which gasoline was poured for the fire to burn the remains.
“Many could not stand the training, some were killed for simply complaining, others fell and died because they simply could not stand it, and we had to dig holes, pits, we put a bed of stones or bricks, we poured gasoline on them as much as we could to make it ignite, we used it once, twice, three times and covered it up,” Índira Navarro, a representative of Warrior Searchers of Jalisco – the missing persons organisation that first found the site – said of what she was told by the escapee.
The training centre was described as “hell itself”. Successful recruits were put into battle against rival gangs elsewhere in the likes of Zacatecas and Michoacán.
Another item found during the search was a letter written by a man called Eduardo Lerma Nito. Shared on social media, it said: “My love, if one day I don’t come back, I only ask that you remember how much I love you. And say: ‘my anger, tantrums and jealousy are gone.’” Eduardo Lerma Nito was reported missing in February last year.
Jalisco has more missing people than anywhere else in Mexico, with more than 15,000 missing persons listed by the National Search Commission. The area is a hotspot for drug cartel activity.
Navarro said: “They have to do an exhaustive inspection. We ask that they bring the dogs p…] that are certified to find human remains and bones.” Authorities are yet to determine how many people the remains found on the ranch may belong to.