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 The BBC's Peter Greste"The admission is a major concession"  real 28k  |
Mexican mass graves: Possible police link
Guarding the graves which are thought to hold dozens of bodies |
By Peter Greste in Juarez, Northern Mexico
The attorney-general of the Mexican state of Chihuhua has conceded that state and federal police may have been involved in killing the 200 people who disappeared from the northern city of Juarez over the past decade.
The FBI is working with Mexican police |
When the authorities announced that they were beginning a search for a number of suspected mass graves believed to hold victims of the Juarez drugs cartel, many locals viewed the news with suspicion.
Here, said one taxi driver, it is impossible to tell the difference between a drug trafficker and a police officer.
Police are collecting photographs of missing people |
But the admission by the state's chief law enforcement official that the state and federal police may have been involved with at least some of the killings is still a major concession.
Arturo Gonzales was talking to reporters outside the ranch where the joint team of US and Mexican investigators has uncovered a grave holding six individuals.
He said although it was possible that state and federal agents were responsible for some of the deaths, he insisted that his officers were not involved in the enquiry because it was outside their jurisdiction.
Public anger
Many Mexicans also believe that the case is outside the FBI's jurisdiction.
There are 65 US specialists here, but there is now a growing public anger at the perceived violation of Mexican sovereignty.
"They shouldn't be allowed here," said one bystander watching the white-jacketed detectives. "If the same happened over the border, there wouldn't be a Mexican for miles."
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02 Dec 99 | Americas |
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Grisly finds in Mexican body search |
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02 Dec 99 | Americas |
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Mexican body count rises |
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15 Feb 99 | Americas |
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US and Mexico: A porous frontier |
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