Specially trained experts and sniffer dogs were called to Macuspana, Mexico, after neighbours complained of a horrendous smell coming from a deserted house – there are fears it might be a cartel ‘death camp’
There are growing fears of a second Mexican cartel “death camp” after a grim odour led to the horrific discovery of human bodies. Neighbours in the municipality of Macuspana, Tabasco, alerted local authorities as a sickening smell was coming from an empty house.
Specially trained experts and sniffer dogs visited the home on March 25 but a discovery of human remains wasn’t made until the following day at around 4pm. Authorities confirmed the ‘El Manantial’ Ranch contained several half-buried black bags of human remains and later discovered two clandestine graves at the site. One contained human body parts, and the other skeletal remains.
The site was cordoned off as forensic teams were called to carry out their investigations, which included members of the Macuspana Municipal Police, personnel from the Tabasco State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), and specialised experts and anthropologists.
They were looking to recover any remaining bodies and identify the remains. It was previously reported the infamous Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had been working in the area of Macuspana.
The second discovery comes just weeks after another horror site was discovered around four hours away from the city of Jalisco, Mexico. Items found among the ashes included 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 CJNG.
Furthermore, it was claimed the bodies of kidnap victims were burned there, and reports suggested other people were kept captive on the site. Authorities discovered rudimentary ovens buried under the ground which had been built to burn remains.
A young person who managed to escape from the so-called “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.
This week, following lengthy investigations and uproar in Mexico, the country’s security minister said there was no evidence that the ranch was an “extermination camp” – but rather it was a training site where the cartel executed trainees who resisted recruitment.
“It’s a completely different thing for killings or torture to be carried out on a property than for it to have been an extermination camp,” Omar Garcia Harfuch said.
“An extermination camp is a place where hundreds and thousands of people are systematically murdered, I think we all understand that. At the moment, I repeat, we have no evidence … that it had been an extermination camp, but rather a training site.”
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. Authorities are yet to determine how many people the remains found on the ranch may belong to.