Mexican authorities say they have found 19 bodies shot and burned near a city on the Rio Grande from Texas, in an area that has seen violent territorial disputes between organized crime groups in recent years. Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office said Saturday afternoon that the bodies were discovered along a dirt road outside Camargo after residents reported a burning vehicle.
Authorities found two vehicles on fire, one containing four bodies and the other 15. Some rifles were also found.
All had been shot, but no shells were found at the scene, prompting investigators to believe they were killed elsewhere.
A Camargo official, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the killings took place on Friday, but people were afraid to report them.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, rumors surfaced on Sunday that Guatemalan migrants were among the dead.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Guatemalan embassy in Mexico and the consulate in Monterrey were communicating with state and federal authorities “to determine if there are any Guatemalan nationals among the victims.” They were said to have activated consular assistance protocols.
Camargo is a major smuggling point for drugs and migrants. Organized crime groups covet control of sections of the border because they make money with everything that crosses the border.
Camargo is on the edge of territory historically controlled by the Gulf cartel and in recent years a remnant of the zetas known in the Northeast cartel has attempted to take over.
In January 2020, 21 bodies were found, most of them burned, in several vehicles near the neighboring city of Ciudad Mier. Days later, the Mexican army killed 11 alleged gunmen in the area.
In January 2019, at neighboring city of Miguel Aleman, 24 bodies were found, of which 15 were cremated.
In August 2010, a group of 72 undocumented migrants died 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 figure of 34,608, which was a record since official accounting began.
Cartel-related violence has plagued Mexico since 2006, with more than 300,000 killed since.
AFP contributed to this report.