Mexico search for missing students turns up 129 bodies

The search for 43 missing college students in the southern state of Guerrero has turned up at least 60 clandestine graves and 129 bodies over the last 10 months, Mexico’s attorney general’s office says.None of the remains has been connected to the youths who disappeared after a clash with police in the city of Iguala on Sept. and authorities do not believe any will be. Prosecutors say the students were turned over to a drug gang that killed them and incinerated their bodies in a case that has put attention on the huge number of people who have gone missing in Guerrero and other Mexican states where drug violence is widespread.

The number of bodies and graves found from October to May could possibly be higher than in its report.

The Attorney General’s office said in response to a freedom of information request.

The government has said there is no evidence the 43 students were involved in the drug trade, but says they were mistaken for a rival gang. Many people are questioning the government’s version of happened to the students, including parents and the National Human Rights Commission, which last week issued a report outlining at least 30 omissions in the investigation that would help determine the youths’ fate. Some were very basic investigation procedures that were never performed. On Sunday, a few hundred people led by parents of the missing youths marched in Mexico City to call for justice in the case.

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