27 Bodies of Cartel Victims in Clandestine Gravesites near U.S. Border in Mexico

Activists found the bodies of 27 cartel victims buried in 16 clandestine graves in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The discovery of the cartel gravesites comes as government officials in Tamaulipas continue making numerous claims about how they have improved the safety in the region.

The discoveries began last Friday when activists with the Amor Por Los Desaparecidos group received information about bodies buried near the Las Fuentes neighborhood in Reynosa. The group began searching and found several bodies on the first day. After four days of searching, the group announced that they had found 27 bodies, but it is believed that there could be many more.

Colectivo amor por los desaparecidos continúan hallando fosas clandestinas en la colonia Infonavit Arboledas de #Reynosa como referencia a un costado del canal rodhe y Cemento Moctezuma muy cerca del C5. Se habla extraoficialmente que ya encontraron al menos 27 cuerpos. pic.twitter.com/H3gZGsGpzR

— ElGuzman (@FuriaNegra77) July 18, 2023

Information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office revealed that investigators are working to identify the bodies and will assist in searching the property.

The discovery of the gravesites comes while the city of Reynosa witnessed several days of extreme violence at the hands of the Gulf Cartel. The criminal organization that controls all of the drug and human trafficking in the region has been the protagonist of several large-scale shootouts and direct attacks on police forces. Breitbart Texas reported that the attacks left two officers dead and several others injured.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

“J.C. Sanchez” and “C.P. Mireles” from Tamaulipas contributed to this report.