Mexico: 19 burned bodies found near the US border

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Mexican soldiers patrol the US border near Miguel Aleman, the scene of a bitter drug war

Photo: Alexandre Meneghini / AP

Local officials made a gruesome find on Sunday on a country road in northern Mexico, not far from the border with the US state of Texas.

According to consistent media reports, a total of 19 cremated bodies were discovered in several parked cars.

The Tamaulipas State Prosecutor's Office said a find of bodies and burned-out vehicles near the small town of Miguel Aleman is currently being investigated.

The people, who were charred beyond recognition, were apparently shot before they were set on fire, it said.

It is therefore possible that they were murdered elsewhere, said the prosecutor.

No cartridge cases were found at the site.

Almost 100 murders a day

The Milenio newspaper reported that there had been reports of a confrontation between two criminal organizations in the area prior to the find.

There was initially no official information.

Since the so-called drug war broke out in the Central American country at the end of 2006, the violence of criminal organizations in Mexico has not stopped.

Almost 100 murders are recorded every day, and more than 82,000 people have disappeared without a trace.

To a large extent, cartels and gangs are responsible, which divide the drug smuggling into neighboring USA and keep clashing.

They also benefit from kidnappings and extortion, and often have ties to local security forces.

According to figures from the IEP think tank, only about three percent of the crimes reported in Mexico are currently being solved.

More than 300,000 violent deaths have been recorded in Mexico since the government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation in December 2006.

Two years ago, 24 partially charred corpses were discovered in the town of Miguel Aleman, with a population of 20,000, after clashes between members of warring gangs.

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bor / dpa / AFP