Volunteers find human remains and bones in suspected cartel 'kitchen' in border state of Tamaulipas

SEATTLE - A Mexico-based volunteer group discovered human remains and sets of bones in two different locations near the border city of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The primary focus of the group, called Colectivo Amor por los Desaparecidos (Love for the Disappeared Collective), is searching for missing persons and raising awareness about disappearances. They notified authorities of their findings this week.

The Tamaulipas Attorney General's Office confirmed the groups claim. It described that bone fragments exposed to heat were found in two different sites, one near kilometer 85 of the Reynosa-Matamoros highway, the other in Sierrita farm, located west of Matamoros.

When investigating both locations, Mexican authorities said four sets of bones and 54 bone fragments were found on the first one. Seven steel drums were found in the second one, with prosecutors confirming at at least one of them contained bone fragments.

In a statement, Tamaulipas' Attorney General's Office said that investigations will keep ongoing to identify the exact number of bone fragments found at both locations as well as conducting DNA tests that can help authorities identify the victims.

Exposing bodies to heat is a common practice for Mexican cartels trying to hide the remains of victims after murdering them, frequently incinerating bodies in drums or barrels at clandestine cremation sites colloquially known as "kitchens."

In recent years, the border cities of Reynosa, Matamoros and even Laredo have been swarmed with violent cartel activity, which has led to community groups regarding themselves as collectives to scour the land for missing relatives.

Last year, Colectivo Amor por los Desaparecidos helped Mexican authorities locate 27 bodies in nearby Reynosa. The bodies were hacked to pieces and buried in clandestine graves.

Edith González, leader of "For the Love of the Disappeared" said the clandestine burial site was located relatively close to the center of Reynosa, only about 4 miles away from the border with McAllen, Texas.

During a Facebook Live broadcast, Martha Quintana, a member of the collective, said the group was at the site trying to show pieces of clothing found "to see if anyone could identify them."

During the broadcast, discarded metal drums as well as multiple pieces of clothing could be seen laying around an abandoned house. Searchers wearing surgical gloves found torn jeans, shirts and jackets. Some of the items appeared to be bloodstained.

"Those were used to blindfold them," Quintana said of soiled long strips of cloth found near bone fragments.

The state of Tamaulipas is the second Mexican state with the most cases of missing people this year. Only Jalisco with its almost 15,000 disappearances has more than Tamaulipas in 2024 (13,228). The states of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon complete the top five. According to data from the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy (IMDHD), 48% of all disappearances in Mexico have taken place in these five states.

In its latest data, IMDHD reported that more than 114,000 people continue to be missing all across the country as of May 2024. That's an increase of almost 7,000 more disappearances compared to 2023.

This issue has intensified since Andrés Manuel López Obrador became president in 2018. According to IMDHD's research, 48% of all reports of missing people since 2000 have happened between 2018 and 2024.