In the community of Valencia de Fuentes in Cortazar, Guanajuato, searchers and authorities located a clandestine grave containing remains of at least 15 people. The discovery, made this week, adds to recent findings in neighboring municipalities controlled by the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. Authorities began excavations and forensic analysis to identify the victims.
The discovery took place on a rural road connecting Valencia de Fuentes to Las Galeras, in the municipality of Cortazar. According to reports, the grave was found during searches for missing persons by mothers' search collectives and state authorities. Municipal president Mauricio Estefanía Torres activated inter-agency collaboration protocols upon learning of the find.
Personnel from the Criminal Investigation Agency and forensic specialists from the Guanajuato State Attorney General's Office conducted excavations for three days, lifting evidence and documenting the site. In addition to the human remains, abandoned vehicles were found nearby, which were secured for investigation into their origin and license plates.
The remains were transferred to the Forensic Medical Service for autopsies and genetic studies to determine the victims' identities. This central area of Guanajuato, including Cortazar, Villagrán, and Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, is controlled by the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
The finding adds to recent ones: on January 21, 2026, 18 bodies (13 complete and remains of 5 more) were found in two agricultural wells in San Antonio Morales and Franco Tavera, Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas. On January 5, six bodies were located in Tamahula, Irapuato, identified by the 'Hasta Encontrarte' collective. On January 8, at least 13 bodies and human remains were found in Villagrán.
Irapuato has recorded 30 clandestine graves in the last six years, with 234 people exhumed. Separately, on the night of January 23, an armed attack in Irapuato's Infonavit Solidaridad neighborhood left two dead —Mauricio Emanuel 'N', 25, and Estela Josefina 'N', 65— and five injured, including 10-year-old Jerson Tadeo.
