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 The BBC's Peter Greste"This is no ordinary murder inquiry"  real 28k  |
More Mexican drug war victims unearthed
Eight bodies have now been found |
Investigators looking for the victims of drug gangs buried in suspected mass graves near the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez have unearthed two more bodies.
The discovery brings to eight the number of bodies found following a week-long joint investigation involving hundreds of Mexican police, soldiers and FBI agents.
The bodies were found together, buried more than 1.5 metres (five feet) deep at what investigators described as site number two - one of two areas where investigators have focused their most intensive efforts.
Mexican special forces wear masks to protect their identity as they guard the investigators |
Cocaine smuggling
Both US and Mexican officials said the killings were apparently connected to the powerful Juarez cartel - Mexico's largest cocaine-smuggling operation, led by Amado Carrillo Fuentes until his death in 1997.
There are reports that as many as 100 bodies might be buried in the area.
Carrillo Fuentes turned the Juarez cartel into a thriving business that earned tens of millions of dollars smuggling drugs through El Paso, Texas, to Dallas, New York and Chicago.
He died in 1997 following plastic surgery intended to mask his identity, and a bloody power struggle ensued.
While the smuggling activity decreased slightly during this period, the organisation quickly regrouped and has since branched out to other cities along the Texas border.
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04 Dec 99 | Americas |
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Mass grave victims 'tortured' |
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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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03 Dec 99 | Americas |
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Mexican mass graves: Possible police link |
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Presidency of the Republic of Mexico |
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FBI |
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US Drug Enforcement Administration |
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