32 bodies, 9 human heads found in Mexico mass graves

Authorities have exhumed 32 bodies and nine heads from several clandestine graves in a southern Mexican state plagued by kidnappings, murders and drug cartel turf wars, officials said Nov. 24.

The remains were unearthed between Nov. 22 and Nov. 24 in 17 pits on a hill in the village of Pochahuixco, part of the municipality of Zitlala.

“The discoveries are terrible,” Guerrero state security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said, adding that the victims include 31 men and one woman.

The remains were taken to the state capital, Chilpancingo, to be identified, Alvarez said in a statement. No arrests have been made in the case.

The bodies were found in 17 of 20 pits that were dug up by investigators. Seven were found on Nov. 22, five on Nov. 23 and the rest on Nov. 24 in various states of decomposition.

No other remains were found but soldiers are scouring the region for any other hidden graves. No arrests were made.

Drug cartels have been burying their victims in hidden graves across the country for years, and authorities regularly find human remains.

At the border between the western states of Jalisco and Michoacan, for instance, 75 bodies were unearthed from 37 clandestine graves between late 2013 and early 2014.

Guerrero has been plagued by a series of mass kidnappings, including 12 people abducted in the municipality of Ajuchitlan del Progreso last week.