While Mexican authorities were investigating reports that armed men were stopping buses and kidnapping passengers in Tamaulipas, they came upon a grisly discovery.
In an area 80 miles south of Brownsville, Texas authorities found several ‘body pits’ containing 59 dead bodies. One pit is believed to have held 43 bodies. This is especially troubling for authorities because it is the same location where 72 kidnapped migrants were found massacred last year.
The bus kidnappings, that originally drew the police to the area, started around March 25th. Reports indicate that mostly men were kidnapped off of local transportation buses and not accounted for later. Most of the bus passengers were believed to be locals or migrants known to use the bus to get closer to the U.S.-Mexico border.
At the ranch where the ‘body pits’ were located (first discovery was made on Saturday and investigators remain on site) 11 suspected kidnappers were detained and 5 kidnap victims released. The bodies uncovered thus far appear to have died 10-to-15 days ago, coinciding with the time the bus kidnappings in the area started.
President Felipe Calderon’s office issued a statement saying the find “underlines the cowardliness and total lack of scruples of the criminal organizations that cause violence in our country.”
