The remains were found on Tuesday afternoon on the sides of the Tlalpa-Olinalá highway approaching crossroads in Cualác, in the Montaña region of Guerrero, according to authorities. Black plastic boxes and an aluminum pot were abandoned alongside other objects believed to have been used to transport the remains, officials reported. Security personnel and experts from the Attorney General's Office of the State of Guerrero rushed to the scene.
Guerrero's homicide rate was 37.5 per 100,000 people in 2024, reflecting ongoing violence linked to criminal groups, data shows. More than a dozen groups are suspected to be operating in Guerrero, with the Los Tlacos, Los Ardillos, and Los Rojos gangs believed to be fighting for territory in the Montaña region, according to local reports. In 2023, 16 separate groups were identified in Guerrero by the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center.
Residents report being assaulted and extorted by criminal groups on highways in Guerrero, resulting in an exodus of people, human rights groups say. The identities of the seven dismembered victims and who is responsible for the killings remain unknown, with the specific cartel or gang behind the violence in the Montaña region also unclear.
This incident occurs amid a broader national crisis of disappearances and unidentified remains. More than 130,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico since 2006, with thousands disappearing every year amid cartel violence, according to official statistics. More than 70,000 unidentified remains have piled up in morgues and cemeteries in Mexico, data shows.
The current Mexican government has said missing information for one-third of the disappeared makes it impossible to search for them, officials report. The current status of the investigation into the dismembered remains in Guerrero has not been disclosed, highlighting challenges in addressing missing persons cases.
Grassroots search efforts have emerged to fill the gap, with volunteers like Raúl Servín searching for his missing son and other missing people in Mexico. He and his group, the Guerreros Buscadores, search based on anonymous tips received on their website, according to Servín. The Guerreros Buscadores search without protection, with only a panic button connecting to a federal network for rights activists, group members say.