Troops find 72 bodies in rural northern Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Mexican marines found the bodies of 72 people at a rural location in northern Mexico after a shootout with suspected drug cartel gunmen that left one marine and three suspects dead.
The find appears to be the largest drug-cartel body-dumping ground found in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug trafficking in 2006.
The cartels often use vacant lots or mine shafts to dump the bodies of executed rivals or kidnapping victims.
The Navy announced the discovery Wednesday but did not give details on the victims’ identities, who had killed them or whether the bodies had been buried.
It was also unclear whether the 58 men and 14 women had been killed at the same time or separately.
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