Eight bodies, remains discovered in northern Mexico

PanARMENIAN.Net - Eight bodies and the remains of others were found in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua over the weekend, sources and state news said, according to CNN.

The eight bodies showed signs of torture, according to sources from the state prosecutor's office. The victims were likely killed where they were found - along a road in the municipality of Satevo. Their identities were not known.

Also in Chihuahua, authorities discovered the remains of an indeterminate number of victims in secret graves in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's state-run Notimex news agency said. The remains reportedly date from 2010.

Chihuahua, which borders the United States, has been hard-hit by drug-related violence.

More than 47,500 people have died across Mexico in such violence since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon took office and announced plans to deploy federal troops to help the government's fight against organized crime.

According to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, more than 5,300 people have disappeared throughout the country in that same time period, and the bodies of 9,000 dead have not been identified.

Calderon is set to wrap up his term as president this week. He will be replaced by Enrique Pena Nieto, who was elected in July and will be sworn in Saturday.