In a sad indicator that Mexico’s drug violence has reached a new level, 72 bodies were found on a ranch near Monterrey, about 100 miles south of the U.S. border. The 58 men, 14 women were believed to be illegal immigrants, crossing through Mexico from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras. The lone survivor, who is receiving death threats in the hospital, told the police that a drug gang tried to extort money from them. When the migrants resisted, the narcos opened fire. The wounded survivor fled to a nearby military checkpoint, leading government forces back to the ranch. There a firefight ensued between the Mexican military and the narcos, leaving one marine and three suspects dead.
This is the largest mass grave so far discovered in Mexico’s drug war. It bodes ill in a number of ways. Violence against civilians is rising. The “pockets of violence,” cities and regions where drug violence riddles life, are swelling. And it gives further confirmation that Mexico drug routes are overtaking the land routes that migrants use to make their way to the United States.
