Mexico City: Mexican authorities have pushed back against claims that a ranch filled with human remains was used as an "extermination camp," instead describing it as a training ground for a powerful cartel where those who resisted recruitment were killed.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch stated on Tuesday that there is no evidence the site was systematically used to murder large numbers of people. "It's one thing for executions and torture to occur at a location, and another for it to be classified as an extermination camp," García Harfuch explained during a government press briefing. He emphasized that such a term implies large-scale systematic killings, and no proof of this has been found.
The ranch, located in Teuchitlán, Jalisco—about 64 kilometers (40 miles) from Guadalajara—was discovered earlier this month by an activist group searching for missing persons. The site contained bone fragments, ashes, makeshift crematoriums, and a large number of personal belongings, including shoes and backpacks. The grim discovery has horrified a country already grappling with nearly two decades of extreme cartel violence.
The site was initially uncovered last September, but authorities failed to secure it, leaving it abandoned until activists rediscovered it. Now, federal investigators have taken over the case.
Authorities have arrested a suspect known as "Comandante Lastra," accused of leading recruitment at the ranch for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Many people were reportedly lured there under false pretenses, responding to job ads posted on social media. Those who refused to join or tried to flee were allegedly tortured or executed.
The case has reignited concerns over cartel violence and the ongoing crisis of missing persons in Mexico, where over 124,000 people remain unaccounted for.
