Mexican police find 166 human skulls in mass graves
Pits in Veracruz believed to contain remains of victims of cartel violence

Mexican police have uncovered 32 mass graves containing at least 166 human bodies believed to belong to victims of cartel violence, officials have announced.
Investigators made the gruesome discovery in the eastern state of Veracruz last month, following an anonymous tip-off, Reuters reports.
Using drones and ground-penetrating radar, police were able to pinpoint the secret graveyard. Following weeks of painstaking examination of the thousands of bones piled into the pits, authorities say that they believe the bodies had been there for around two years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Addressing a news conference yesterday, State Attorney General Jorge Winckler said that the pits - the precise location of which he declined to reveal - were on a key trafficking route for cartels smuggling drugs north off the border into the US.
Veracruz has “long been racked by violent crime”, as rival gangs fight for dominance of the lucrative narcotics trade, says Reuters.
As well as “bloody turf battles between the Zetas and Jalisco drug cartels” , the state has also suffered “waves of kidnappings and extortions”, Time magazine reports. Criminal lawlessness has been exacerbated by rampant bribery and corruption in local government.
In 2016 and 2017, the remains of a total of at least 253 people believed to be victims of cartel violence were found at various mass graves near the state capital, and further secret burial sites have been found across Mexico.
Winckler said that personal effects retrieved from the newly discovered graves included 114 identification documents. The families of missing people would be allowed to view the personal items recovered from the graves and to submit their DNA for testing against the remains, he added.
“More than 5,000 people are believed to have gone missing between 2010 and 2016 in the state of Veracruz alone,” USA Today reports, citing statistics from the Washington DC-based Congressional Research Center.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Interest rate cut: the winners and losers
The Explainer The Bank of England's rate cut is not good news for everyone
-
Quiz of The Week: 3 – 9 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will robots benefit from a sense of touch?
Podcast Plus, has Donald Trump given centrism a new lease of life? And was it wrong to release the deadly film Rust?
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
-
At least 11 killed in Sweden adult ed school shooting
Speed Read The worst mass shooting in Swedish history took place in Orebro