'This hasn't received visibility it deserves' - Search mothers decry neglect after 60 bags with remains found near World Cup host city

"Less than a month before Guadalajara hosts matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, search collectives in Mexico say they have recovered at least 60 bags containing human remains and three complete bodies from a large clandestine burial site near the city. Footage filmed on Saturday shows the area in Las Pintitas, in the municipality of El Salto, cordoned off by state police, with forensic service vehicles stationed at the scene as authorities continued investigations alongside members of search collectives. The site, discovered on April 25 following an anonymous tip, is part of a harrowing pattern across the Guadalajara metropolitan area, where volunteers have found hundreds of concealed graves as the number of recovered remains continues to rise. "So far, I believe there are around 60 bags, as well as three complete bodies and many signs of charred remains," said Cecilia Flores, a member of the Searching Mothers of Sonora collective. Flores added that the anonymous source who reported the site claimed some houses in the area may have been built over buried remains. "The anonymous source even says some houses were built over the bodies, and that many remains may be buried beneath them. So how do we deal with that? How do we tell someone to tear down their home because one of the bodies may be underneath it?" she said. Members of the collectives also criticised a lack of support from the authorities and accused the government of prioritising World Cup preparations over the families of missing people. "They can't stop the World Cup, but they can stop denying support to the many mothers and grandmothers who deserve and need it," said Adriana Ornelas, another member of the collective. The discovery adds to a growing number of clandestine graves found in Jalisco in recent years, underscoring Mexico's ongoing disappearance crisis. Several major burial sites lie within a short radius of both Guadalajara International Airport and Estadio Akron, which is set to welcome national teams and hundreds of thousands of international football fans next month. "

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