On 22 January 2021, 19 corpses were found at Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico.[1][2][3]

Camargo massacre
LocationCamargo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Date22 January 2021
Targetmigrants
Attack type
mass killing
Deaths19
Injuredunknown

Background

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The Mexican drug war is an asymmetric low-intensity conflict between drug cartels and the government, and between rival cartels.[1] It began in 2006, is part of the global war on drugs and is concentrated in the country's northern states. In Tamaulipas, this includes massacres in San Fernando in 2010 and 2011 and in Miguel Alemán Municipality in 2019.[1][2] Violent organized crime groups are very active in the area in which the corpses were found, including clashes between the Noreste and Gulf Cartels.[1]

Massacre

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On 22 January 2021, 19 corpses were found in a truck in Camargo Municipality, which is in the Mexican state Tamaulipas and borders Texas in the United States.[1][2] The authorities discovered two vehicles which were on fire.[1] In a pickup truck which had 113 bullet impacts, 19 people were found dead, having been shot and burned.[1][2] They were migrants - 16 Guatemalans, 2 Mexicans and the other of unidentified nationality - who were intending to cross the international border.[1][2] Five migrants survived.[4]

Reaction

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In early February 2021, a dozen police officers were arrested in connection to the massacre.[2][5][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mexican authorities find 19 charred bodies near US border". www.aljazeera.com. 25 Jan 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Twelve Mexican police arrested over mass killing of migrants near US border". the Guardian. Associated Press. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  3. ^ "Guatemalan families believe victims of massacre in Mexico were their migrant relatives". 2021-01-25.
  4. ^ "Five migrants survived January massacre of 19". Jamaica Gleaner. March 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "12 officers ordered to stand trial in massacre of 19 in Tamaulipas". Mexico News Daily. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  6. ^ "Mexican police charged in massacre of Guatemalan migrants near U.S. border". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-24.