The horror.
Twelve police officers from the state of Tamaulipas, in northern Mexico, were arrested for alleged participation in the massacre of 19 people, probably migrants, in an area bordering the United States, the prosecution said on Tuesday.
At the site of the massacre, clues have been found showing that "at least 12 state police officers participated" in the killing, Tamaulipas prosecutor Irving Barrios told a press conference.
On January 23, the Tamaulipas prosecutor's office announced the discovery in a burnt-out van of the charred remains of 19 people, the majority of whom were probably migrants who had come from Guatemala to try to enter the United States illegally via Mexico.
Guatemalan victims
The results of the first investigations revealed a modification of the scene of the crime which reinforces the hypothesis of the participation of police officers, indicated the prosecutor.
The police officers who were arrested will be charged with "probable participation" in the massacre, the prosecutor said.
In Guatemala, families said that among the victims of the massacre could be some of their relatives who had decided in January to cross Mexico with the help of smugglers to the United States.
The Tamaulipas prosecutor's office worked with the Guatemalan consular authorities and, thanks to DNA analyzes, was able to identify the bodies of two Guatemalans and two Mexicans.
Mexico plagued by violence
The state of Tamaulipas, located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, is the shortest route to the United States from the south.
But the region is dangerous due to the presence of gangs that kidnap, ransom and murder migrants.
The Camargo sector, where the bodies were discovered, is disputed between the Northeast Cartel, which originated from the Los Zetas Cartel, and the Gulf Cartel.
Mexico is affected by endemic violence linked to organized crime, particularly the drug cartels fighting over routes to the United States.
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Since the government launched a massive anti-drug operation in December 2006, more than 300,000 violent deaths have been recorded in Mexico, according to official figures.
