Refrigerated Truck With 157 Decomposing Bodies Found Abandoned in Mexico

According to EuroNews, authorities only came to reclaim the abandoned truck after people complained about the awful smell emanating from it. It is believed that the 157 bodies were victims of cartel violence, which could no longer be housed at local morgues because they were at full capacity.

Still, not a single official could offer an explanation as to how the trailer ended up in the field or whether there were ever any plans to come back for it and have the bodies stored properly. One theory is that the truck was en route to a mass grave site, plans for which fell through when residents complained it was being built too close to their homes.

As the story of the finding broke, the trailer was recovered and taken to another place – but authorities again refused to say where.

Meanwhile, Luis Octavio Cotero, the head of Jalisco’s Institute of Forensic Sciences, the body responsible for handling the human remains, has been dismissed. Aristoteles Sandoval, the Jalisco governor, says “serious omissions that must be sanctioned” have taken place. “It is evident that those who were in charge of the transfer procedure altered the protocol without notifying their hierarchical superiors.”

Outraged residents told the media that the trailer was on the field for days before they smelled anything, so presumably, its cooling system was still working. They also revealed it took them several attempts to get authorities to come and retrieve the vehicle with its cargo.

Various groups are urging authorities on social media to identify the victims, accusing them of lacking humanity and compassion for the victims’ families. Just last year, over 30,000 died in Mexico because of cartel violence, the highest number since official recordings started in 1997.