Mexican authorities say they found a clandestine grave with the remains of at least 166 people in the state of Veracruz — the latest mass grave in a place that has been marred by disappearances, warring drug cartels and government-sponsored violence. At the time, state prosecutor Jorge Winckler told news station Televisa that "once we have opened all the mass graves in the state, [Veracruz] could become the biggest mass grave in Mexico, or even the world." Officials have not revealed the exact location of the gravesite, but speaking to reporters, Winckler said that in addition to the human remains, investigators also found more than 100 ID cards at the site, as well as around 200 items of clothing - raising hopes that some of the victims can be properly identified. In a statement, Veracruz Attorney General Jorge Winckler Ortiz said body parts and clothes were also found in the mass grave, but skulls were counted to determine the most accurate number of how many people were buried there. Roberto Campa, who was at the time Mexico's deputy interior minister for human rights, told the Journal after the earlier mass grave discovery was announced last year that "something like this can only happen with the complicity of the police." Non-governmental groups and federal authorities have reported that there are more than 30,000 people currently reported missing in Mexico.
Mexican officials report the discovery of the remains of at least 166 people in a mass grave in Veracruz.