Nobody, Especially the Government, Knows How Many Mass Graves Have Been Found in Mexico Karla Zabludovsky - BuzzFeed News
go to original March 27, 2015

Families in Torreon, Mexico spend Saturdays looking for mass graves in hopes of finding their loved ones. Zain Asher reports. (CNN)

How many more clandestine gravesites have been discovered and how many more are scattered across Mexico, waiting to be dug up?

The Mexican government does not have an answer to that question; it lacks an accurate, comprehensive tally. BuzzFeed News filed public records requests to all 32 states and the federal government, asking for a list of mass graves discovered since December 2006, when former president Felipe Calderón assumed office and launched his war on organized crime. The request also sought the number of remains found in each mass grave, their gender and state of decomposition, and how many have been identified.

Federal government figures do not add up to match information provided by the states, which is itself inconsistent. Some states withheld the data, saying that releasing such information would do more harm than good, while others simply did not respond to the requests. Several wrote that no mass graves had been discovered, but local reports contradict these assertions.

According to the attorney general’s office, 147 clandestine graves containing a total of 564 bodies or remains have been discovered since January 2008. The Federal Police has a record of 55 mass graves containing 736 remains since 2007. Between the 27 states that responded — though several said the information was classified — 228 clandestine gravesites have been unearthed, containing at least 972 bodies or remains, exceeding both federal counts.

Meanwhile, Mexicans are overtaken by the sense that their country now sits atop a giant graveyard.



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