500 Human Remains Found in 'Narcograves' in Coahuila, in Northern Mexico

The remains of at least 500 people have been found in 'narcograves' in northern Coahuila, Mexico, since Feb. 1, when the State Attorney General started an operation to locate missing people from 11 municipalities.

According to a report published by Mexican magazine Proceso, the Deputy Attorney of Investigation and Missing Persons of Coahuila has found at least 500 human remains in clandestine graves, and the operation still continues, expecting to find more bodies.

Since the night of last Saturday, at least 200 State police officers, supported by Marines and the Federal Police, continue their search for missing persons and human remains.

In just 10 days of search, the finding of 500 human remains in public and private properties have alerted the authorities and the people of Coahuila due to the amount of remains found, most of them bones, some of which present evidence of being burned.

"Most of the remains are complete skeletons, some of them burned because someone tried to disintegrate them with fire," the representative of the Deputy Attorney of Investigation and Missing Persons of Coahuila told the El Siglo de Torreón.

Owing to the state of the remains, forensic units are analyzing the bones, and the DNA results will be ready to be compared to the families of missing people in about four months, said the representative.

According to Proceso, the remains, presumably belonging to victims of drug cartels, were found in the municipalities of Zaragoza, Allende, Acuña, Piedras Negras, Guerrero, Monclova, Morelos, Jiménez, Hidalgo, Villa Unión and Nava.

So far, 20 former public servants in Coahuila, including former mayors and police chiefs, have been sought to declare on the disappearance of people in the state.