HomeNewsBrief14 Bodies Discovered in Acapulco
BRIEF

14 Bodies Discovered in Acapulco

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 10 JUN 2011 BY PATRICK CORCORAN EN

Mexico's authorities have discovered 14 bodies in a series of clandestine graves in Acapulco, thought to be victims of drug violence.

As El Universal reports, ten of the bodies were uncovered on Wednesday, with four more found the following day. Authorities said that they also found a shrine to Jesus Malverde, the so-called saint of the narcos, as well as the head of a pig.

This follows the discovery of more than 400 bodies in a handful of graves in Durango and Tamaulipas, as well as thousands of bone fragments belonging to an unknown number of people in Coahuila.

Acapulco has been subjected to a series of turf wars over the past several years, turning it into one of Mexico’s focal points of drug violence. In the mid-2000s, the Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel battled it out for control of the beach city. In recent months, the main protagonists in drug violence in the area have been the Independent Cartel of Acapulco and the South Pacific Cartel.

These two new groups, which formed from the remnants of organizations controlled by Edgar Valdez Villarreal (arrested in September) and Arturo Beltran Leyva (killed December 2009), are sponsored by various outside groups, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Familia Michoacana, in the case of the Independent Cartel of Acapulco, and the Zetas, who are allied with the South Pacific Cartel.

Authorities said they do not suspect any particular group of the crime.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 12 MAY 2021

Time appears to be running out for the governor of the US-Mexico border state of Tamaulipas – after lawmakers stripped…

HOMICIDES / 1 MAY 2021

Mexico has once again dominated a list of the most violent cities in the world but smaller towns have now…

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME / 14 APR 2022

government searching for solutions to prevent extinction while trying not to lose the favor of local anglers.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…