Mexican police not yet linking mass burial with missing students

World Today

Authorities in Mexico said 28 bodies have been pulled from a mass burial site in southern Mexico in graves that were discovered on Saturday. Family members of a group of missing students are demanding answers. CCTV America’s correspondent Franc Contreras reports.

Family and friends of missing students in southern Guerrero state have felt frustration, confusion and anger since soldiers and federal police discovered the unmarked graves near Iguala over the weekend.

“All of them present signs of burning. According to forensic experts, we are able to say that in the graves discovered in ‘Pueblo Viejo’, the bodies of the victims were placed on a wood pile and soaked with a flammable accelerant substance like diesel fuel, gasoline or oil,” said Inaky Blanco Cabrera, the prosecutor for Guerrero State.

Authorities are trying to determine if the bodies are the students who went missing last week after clashes with police. Authorities detained at least 22 police officers in connection with this case and they may face murder charges. Information on the identities of the bodies has been slow in coming, only adding to the indignation that friends and families of the missing students are feeling.

Fearing for their safety, student and family members hid their identities and said they don’t trust Mexican officials. Nighttime video circulating on national television reportedly showed police vehicles in Iguala departing with the arrested students aboard shortly after the clashes. President Enrique Peña Nieto promises to bring those guilty to justice. Forensics officials are looking for evidence that could help identify the victims and learn more about who may have left the bodies.