Mexican authorities say they have found 19 bodies shot dead near a Texas city in Rio Grande, in an area that has seen violent territorial disputes between organized crime groups in recent years. Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office said Saturday night that the bodies were found along a dirt road near Camargo after residents reported a burning vehicle.
The authorities found two burning vehicles, one containing four bodies and the other 15. Some rifles were also found.
All were shot, but the bombs were not found at the scene, leading investigators to believe they were killed elsewhere.
A Camargo official, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said the killings occurred on Friday, but people were afraid to report them.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, rumors spread on Sunday that Guatemalan migrants were among the dead.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Guatemalan embassy in Mexico and the consulate in Monterrey are communicating with state and federal authorities “to determine whether someone among the victims is someone of Guatemalan nationality”. He said they had activated consular aid protocols.
Camargo is an important crossing point for smuggling drugs and migrants. Organized crime groups aspire to control sections of the border because they make money from everything that crosses the border.
Camargo is close to the edge of a territory historically controlled by the Gulf cartel and in recent years a remnant of the Zetas known in the Northeast cartel tried to take over.
In January 2020, 21 bodies, mostly burned, were found in several vehicles near the nearby city of Ciudad Mier. Days later, the Mexican army killed 11 suspected gunmen in the area.
In January 2019, at neighboring town of Miguel Aleman, 24 corpses were found, of which 15 were charred.
In August 2010, a group of 72 undocumented migrants was killed in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. Authorities said the massacre was perpetrated by the Zetas cartel, one of the most powerful at the time.
Mexico recorded 34,523 murders in 2020, a slight decrease from the 2019 number of 34,608, which was a record since the beginning of official records.
Cartel-related violence has plagued Mexico since 2006, with more than 300,000 murders since then.
AFP contributed to this report.