Bulletproof Burial Grounds: Graves Await the Inevitable at Sinaloa's Narco Cemetery The Associated Press
go to original September 28, 2015

The Narco Tombs of Culiacan, Sinaloa (TrueTalesVideo)

Palatial tombs mark the final resting spots of top narcotics traffickers in the Jardines de Humaya cemetery in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan.

The cemetery is known for the extravagant tombs built for deceased drug lords like Ignacio Coronel and Arturo Beltran Leyva.

Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman hails from this region and there had been fears he would seek revenge against those who turned against him while he was prison. But his escape doesn't seem to have sparked additional violence in this area, apparently with few new burials here since he slipped out of Mexico's highest-security prison.

In front of the cemetery's gates, municipal police set up a check point and searched cars. But it wasn't to look for Guzman; it was to check for traffic infractions and stolen vehicles.

Top drug cartel lieutenants sometimes buy dozens of burial plots in advance at the Jardines de Humaya, to make sure there is space for their people when they meet their end.

But many of the top drug lords' tombs have space that could hold dozens of graves. Some are outfitted with air conditioning, alarm systems — even living rooms with furniture. Many are decorated with sculptures or paintings of saints, Jesus or the Virgin of Guadalupe, despite their violent lifestyles.

Read the rest at ABC News

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