The whole valley smells of death

For the inhabitants of the Ejido Jesus Carranza, the discovery of 20 skeletal remains buried in clandestine graves on private property came as no surprise. Years back, they witnessed suspicious activities, but for them denunciation (reporting to authorities) was never an option because they feared retaliation.

"Here, we would see new cars...we also saw a lot of military and police in that place," said several neighbors when they were interviewed, asking for their identities not to be revealed and for them not to be photographed.

From the start, the ejidatarios (local communal landowners) dismiss the idea that there are any townspeople among the victims; they affirm that there are no disappeared persons. At least, not there.

"We don't have anybody missing here. We were born here and we've known each other all our lives. Up there (he points towards the ranch) is where people from the outside bought (properties)," said one of the ejidatarios.

All the structures adjacent to the clandestine cemetery are abandoned. It was quiet last week for the residents of the Ejido Jesus Carranza.

"Everything was very peaceful, nothing ever happens here, the truth is that the the village had been peaceful for several months," they assured us, although they did not dismiss the idea that the relative tranquility was due to the fact that the people who were using at least two properties for safe houses and illegal graveyards had left the town.

"The military also left. We only see them on the highway," they said.

It was only last weekend that a helicopter flying over and dozens of municipal prosecutor's vehicles arriving broke the peace and told them something bad was happening.

"Then (the investigators) told us that they were looking for bodies," they stated.

The official report from state authorities states that "investigation and intelligence (work) developed during the past year" led to the discovery of the skeletal remains, all belonging to males.

Prosecutor Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas specified in a press conference that it was thanks to support of U.S. authorities that the exact location where the cadavers were buried.

Unofficial sources say that the support came from the anti-narcotics section of the U.S. Consulate General in Mexico, the same (unit) that provided information on the exact location of Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, "El Diego", which allowed them to make a "clean" arrest.

The information from U.S. authorities led the investigators to Ejido Jesus Carranza. On the Juarez-Porvenir highway, at kilometer marker 35, you take a right turn on an unpaved street that goes to the ranch.

Two kilometers (1.2 miles) ahead, one can see several uninhabited structures on the desert terrain. And there, among the sand dunes and the brush, can be seen the open pits dug by personnel from the office of the medical examiner (SEMEFO; Servicio Medico Forense).

A foul odor is everywhere, and also enormous piles of trash left behind by employees from the State Attorney General's Office during their three-day stay, which is how long the search and the excavations took.

This ranch, located east of Ciudad Juarez and adjacent to the San Agustin Ejido, also part of the municipality, is less than three miles from the metal fence that divides Mexico and the United States.

The excavations were conducted in a 100 yard radius, and there were graves side by side. The closest one was less than 30 yards from the swimming pool built in front of the main house.

As of yesterday, the investigating authorities had not yet fully identified the owner of the ranch.

Arturo Sandoval, spokesman for State Prosecutor's Office (FGE; Fiscalia General del Estado) , explains that they were working on identifying the owner through the Public Property Register.

The house was still under construction. There's broken ceiling material and insulation on the floor, and also a bar that takes up a large part of the room.

Notably, the property is situated less than nine miles from the military checkpoint that the Mexican Army operated in San Agustin for several years, and it is also near the surveillance cameras installed by the Federal Police on the Juarez-Porvenir highway.

"Here, the ones who have circulated freely are the criminals, the police, the military; for us, who live here, they would ask us for identification just to go in and out of the town," say the ejidatarios.

The FGE states that are no identified bodies at this time. There is a very extensive data bank developed by the office of medical examiner. The last time a similar project was undertaken was in 2010, when 20 skeletal remains were locates in the town of Palomas de Villa, also very close to a military base.

Friday 30 november 2012

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