Jalisco prosecutor reports narco grave near Guadalajara-Chapala highway

In the last 90 days, regional drug war burial sites have yielded over 100 bodies

*Updated Apr. 6*
Guadalajara -
The Jalisco state prosecutor has reported the discovery of yet another mass narco grave near the community of La Calera, about three kilometers from the Guadalajara-Chapala highway. The area is just beyond the Guadalajara Metro Zone (GMZ), half way to Lake Chapala.

Fifteen dismembered human remains have been found since Wednesday, investigators said today. None of the victims have been identified. By Saturday (Feb. 22) the cadaver count was up to 19.

A recently captured drug gang member revealed the grave's existence to police. The man, 23, was arrested at a drug warehouse on the outskirts of Guadalajara where police found more than a ton of marijuana packaged for shipment, as well as 85 pounds of methamphetamine. They also found high caliber weapons and flak jackets.

In May 2012 the severed heads and butchered remains of 18 execution victims were found in two vehicles along the same highway. A narcomensaje (executioner's warning) signed by the Los Zetas drug cartel was left at the scene. That case has not been solved.

In November multiple mass graves were discovered by investigators near La Barca, Jalisco, east of Lake Chapala on the border with Michoacán state. Eventually 71 bodies were unearthed. Twenty Michoacán police officers, alleged to be members of the violent Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), commonly known as Los Matazetas (the "Zeta killers"), are now in custody for the killings. Authorities say the victims were members of Los Caballeros Templarios, a powerful Michoacán cartel.

In December state investigators discovered another narco cemetery near San Francisco Tesistán, a town located at about 5,000 feet in rugged hills northwest of the Guadalajara metro. A three person Matazeta cell which controlled drug sales in and around Tesistán was arrested in a local murder case, and members revealed the location of the grave. They told police at least 25 persons were buried at the site. Authorities reported they recovered 17 bodies.

Feb. 25 - Jalisco state prosecutor Luis Carlos Nájera has announced that an undetermined number of police officers in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga county, where the latest grave site was located, were involved with the mass burials. Most of them have abandoned their jobs and fled the area. "We plan to make some changes in the department," he said. Tlajomulco de Zúñiga is between Guadalajara proper and Lake Chapala. Prófugos, policías implicados en fosas.

Metro area police officers were involved in a similar case in La Barca, Jalisco last year. 20 Michoacán police officers charged as "Zeta killers."

Mar. 3 - Jalisco governor takes credit for discovery of burial sites

Mar. 25 - The person responsible for the dead buried in the La Calera grave site is the man below. He was in the service of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), the Matazetas, and his job was to recruit members of the competing Los Caballeros Templarios from neighboring Michoacán state. They were given one chance to switch sides and begin working for CNJG as narco tiradores - drug peddlers on the street. If they refused they were killed and quietly buried.

Apr. 6 - Since Dec. 1, 2012, 400 bodies have been recovered from narcofosas in 13 Mexican states.

Feb. 17, 2014 - Michoacán belongs to organized crime, say 55% of Mexicans
Feb. 15, 2014 - Mexico able to deliver security "only in certain zones"
Apr. 24, 2013 - Six Lake Chapala police officers ordered to stand trial in kidnapping and attempted murder case
June 22, 2012 - Mexican drug cartels will likely morph into "super gangs," says U.S. security firm, with violence threatening Guadalajara

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