San Fernando massacre: 1 year later

One year ago, Mexican authorities made a grisly discovery in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. A total of 72 migrants were massacred, allegedly by the drug cartel Los Zetas. The authorities would eventually find 193 bodies in the "narcofosas" of San Fernando.
Two suspects in the mass killings remain at large: Salvador Alfonso Martinez Esobedo, "La Ardilla," and Ramon Ricardo Palomo Rincones, "El Coyote." "La Ardilla" was cited as a presumed leader of a cell of Los Zetas.
The Secretary-General of the Republic (PGR) is offering rewards for both men: 15,000 pesos for "La Ardilla," 10,000 for "El Coyote." The authorities have detained 82 others for possible connections with the killings. Yet Fernando Batista Jimenez of the National Human Rights Commission criticized the PGR's handling of the case.
So far, the authorities have been able to return just 26 of the dead to their families in different states of the country, and one to Guatemala.
Of the 72 migrants slain, 58 were men and 14 were women, coming from nations to the south such as Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador.
The human rights commission described a wave of violence against migrants, noting that there were at least 214 reported mass kidnappings of migrants between April and September 2010 with 11,333 victims.
Rene Zenteno, undersecretary of population, migration and religious affairs in the Governing Secretary's office, called the San Fernando killings "one of the most lamentable affairs in the history of the country."

Tamaulipas body count surpasses 100

Authorities continue to unearth more bodies in the mass graves of the northeastern municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas.
The count is now up to 128 bodies previously concealed in clandestine pits, according to Tamaulipas en Linea.
The increasingly grisly discoveries have prompted a convergence on San Fernando of federal forces (Governing Secretary Francisco Blake, appearing with Secretary General Marisela Morales and Tamaulipas Gov. Egidio Torre, has said they will remain for now) and family members of disappeared persons seeking to identify their loved ones. As of Tuesday, seventeen people have been arrested in connection with the discoveries, which are reportedly linked to the drug cartel Los Zetas.
At least one Guatemalan citizen was among the slain: Feliciano Tagual Ovalle, 44, of Chimaltenango, whose identity was confirmed by the Guatemalan government.
Reports indicate that it is both easy and dangerous to be a Central or South American migrant in Mexico. Tamaulipas en Linea notes that crossing the Guatemala-Mexico border can be done for a fee of about one US dollar. Yet for those seeking to pass through Mexico to the US, the costs apparently rise -- and so do the dangers. Last year, 72 bodies -- among them Central and South American migrants -- were discovered not far from the site of the mass graves unearthed this year.
Meanwhile, speaking in the city of Torreon, Coahuila, President Felipe Calderon issued a collective call to the cartels to end their violence, El Universal reported. His call seemed to contain a reference to Tamaulipas, as he criticized, among others, "those who kidnap and assassinate migrants."

Body count up to 72 in Tamaulipas

The Mexican press is reporting that the body count has reached 72 persons in a number of mass graves in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, with possible links to the Los Zetas drug cartel.
Originally the authorities found the bodies of 59 people in eight mass graves on public land on Wednesday, March 30, El Universal reported. The newspaper noted today that at least 13 more bodies have been discovered.
Meanwhile, La Jornada examined possible causes of the killings: that Los Zetas was abducting members of rival cartels and extorting their families for their supposed ransom; that the victims were trying to reach the US by bus but did not pay a fee to a cartel; and that Los Zetas was intending to add them to the cartel's ranks.
Just two of the victims have been identified as of yesterday, Noticias de Tamaulipas reported, with the office of the state Secretary-General of Justice confirming that they were from San Fernando.
Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the grisly discovery: nine on April 1 and five more on April 6. Also on April 1, authorities freed five kidnapping victims, Alejandro Poire of the National Security Council told the media.
Tamaulipas has witnessed similar atrocities in the past. Last year, near the site of the mass graves unearthed in the previous week, authorities found the bodies of 72 Central and South American migrants.