Mexico: Discovery of "training and extermination camp" at Izaguirre ranch opens wounds over those disappeared by drug trafficking

The Mexican government confirmed this week the capture of José Gregorio "N," alias "El Lastra," who was identified as the head of the recruitment center in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, where numerous acts of torture and homicide allegedly took place.

In a press conference, Secretary of Public Security Omar Gracia Harfuch explained the modus operandi of Jose Gregorio "N" in recruiting and training youths in Rancho Izaguirre.

According to testimony gathered by Harfuch, José Gregorio "N" admitted to killing those who resisted training by the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación or attempted to escape. Likewise, those forcibly recruited were beaten and tortured if they refused to cooperate.

García Harfuch stated that the exact number of people who died at the Teuchitlán ranch has yet to be determined.

On Tuesday, the Mexican prosecutor's office arrested two agents from the Oaxaca state prosecutor's office, including one from the public prosecutor's office. The individuals have been accused of involvement in the disappearance and murder of five people in February.

An extermination camp with a police record

On March 5, the search collective Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco was the first to report finding clothing and charred skeletal remains at the site, which civil organizations have described as a "training and extermination camp."

According to the Jalisco prosecutor's office, 1,308 items believed to belong to missing persons were found at the Teuchitlán ranch.

The site, known as Izaguirre Ranch, was first raided last September after police and National Guard forces exchanged gunfire with alleged hitmen from the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation.

The operation resulted in ten arrests and the rescue of two kidnapping victims, one of whom was found alive and the other deceased. 

According to N+, two of the ten individuals arrested during the operation have been charged with the crime of enforced disappearance by private individuals.

Irregularities that the Jalisco attorney general's office overlooked at the Izaguirre ranch

Last week, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz pointed out at a press conference several irregularities that the state attorney general's office overlooked following the events of September 2024 at the Teuchitlán ranch.

After the confrontation between the National Guard and alleged CJNG hitmen, Jalisco authorities failed to conduct a thorough investigation of the site, leaving it unguarded and abandoned.

Gertz also detailed that the chief of the municipal police of Tala was already in custody and that two additional arrest warrants were pending for former municipal police officers from the area, related to the Izaguirre ranch case.

The Jalisco prosecutor's office has also faced criticism for failing to locate hundreds of items, including clothing, shoes, and charred skeletal remains, which were recovered following complaints from collectives searching for the disappeared.

Mexican attorney general's office takes over the case

This Tuesday, the Mexican attorney general's office took control of the investigation into the Izaguirre ranch. Gertz stated at a press conference that, following the capture of "El Lastra," the case is now considered "a federal matter."

Likewise, President Claudia Sheinbaum prioritized the case following criticism of the poor performance of the Jalisco prosecutor's office.

On the other hand, the Izaguirre ranch case has prompted the families of missing persons to urge Sheinbaum's administration to take action.

The number of missing persons is alarming

Mexico is grappling with a severe crisis of disappearances, closely tied to the violence and insecurity the country has faced in recent decades.

According to the National Registry of Missing Persons (RNPDNO), there are 125,619 people in Mexico whose whereabouts are unknown. The data shows that 88% of these disappearance reports began in 2006, coinciding with the start of the first phase of the Mexican War on Drug Trafficking (Operativo Conjunto Michoacán) under President Felipe Calderón.

According to the RNPDNO, as of August 8, 2024, there were 116,386 "missing and unaccounted for" persons since 1950. Of these, 89,121 were men, 26,749 were women, and 516 had an undefined sex.

Places with the most disappearances in Mexico.

According to the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy (IMDHD), the five states with the highest number of cases of missing persons are Jalisco, Tamaulipas, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon. These five states account for approximately 48% of the country’s missing persons.

According to the IMDHD, the age group with the highest concentration of missing persons remains between 25 and 29 years old.

On the other hand, individuals aged 0 to 19 make up 18% of the missing persons registry.

According to a report by ZonaDocs, 28 houses known as "extermination sites" were discovered in central Jalisco in 2019. At these locations, people are kidnapped, tortured, and often killed, with their bodies buried either on-site or in remote areas. In many cases, the victims are forced to share living quarters with decomposing bodies.

Izaguirre ranch is not an isolated case

Independent journalist Alejandra Guillén reported on Aristegui en Vivo that the discovery at the Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, is just one of several forced recruitment and training centers. According to Guillén, there exists a "disappearance circuit" that stretches for several miles, even into other states, where organized crime operates with the complicity of authorities at all levels.

For the Jalisco journalist, it is important to understand that this ranch is part of a larger circuit of disappearances, and not to be distracted by the "horror show."

"What must be understood when analyzing this ranch is what place it occupies in this circuit of people disappearing, which is a broad circuit, a very large structure, which does not begin or end only in that place. That ranch is part of a chain with an impressive organization that uses many places, many vehicles, many people: some post the announcements on the Internet, others go through them, others hold them, others train them, others launder the money," said the academic on "Where the Disappeared Go," a news portal she co-founded.