Mexico arrests 15 linked to cartel extermination site in Jalisco

MEXICO CITY

Mexican authorities have arrested 15 suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in connection with the discovery of a suspected extermination site known as Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, Mexico’s top prosecutor said Tuesday.

Alejandro Gertz Manero, the country’s attorney general, confirmed during a morning press briefing that those detained had been previously arrested for other organized crime-related offenses and are now directly linked to the mass killing site uncovered last month.

The 10,000-square-meter estate, discovered by a search group on March 8, was reportedly used by the cartel to forcibly recruit young men and eliminate those who resisted, employing brutal torture and execution methods.

The site was riddled with harrowing evidence of cartel activities. Searchers reported charred remains and discarded clothing from an unknown number of victims, although some have speculated that hundreds could have been killed at the Izaguirre Ranch.

“We’ve been a little over 15 days since we were able to take possession of that property, and since that moment, I believe there has been substantial progress,” Gertz Manero said. “First of all, we have 15 detainees who were already arrested for other crimes linked to organized crime.”

While confirming that human remains were found at the ranch, the prosecutor said there was currently no conclusive evidence of crematories being used to dispose of bodies. “They are very fragmented, small bowls where remains are found that do not correspond directly to a single body,” he explained, referring to the challenges in identifying victims due to the condition of the remains.

The case has stirred renewed scrutiny of the Mexican military's role in ongoing cartel violence. A report released Tuesday by watchdog group Mexicans Against Corruption claimed that the military had known about the existence of Izaguirre Ranch and related atrocities since 2019.

The report cites military documentation from August and September 2019, when soldiers and local police reportedly discovered dozens of bodies that had been burned near Teuchitlán -- the same region now under investigation.

The latest findings at Izaguirre Ranch shed more light on the relentless impunity in Mexico and the role of the Mexican military in the violence plaguing the country. Two weeks ago, authorities arrested Jose Gregorio Lastra, a Jalisco Cartel underboss suspected of being behind the Izaguirre Ranch and a former military official.