Discovery of Another Mass Grave in Mexico Brings Questions of Law Enforcement ...

In what has become a string of mass graves discovered in Mexico, law enforcement authorities there have uncovered one of the most gruesome yet. 

Eighty-nine bodies were found buried in a vacant auto repair lot in Durango, Mexico. Since April, a total of seven mass graves have been found in the city of almost 600,000, and 308 bodies have been recovered so far.  

All the graves have been located in middle-class neighborhoods near schools. Officials say the mass graves probably hold the corpses of executed gang rivals or possibly kidnap victims and even some police. Some of the corpses have been in the ground less than six months, while others have been there for as long as 4 years. 

The latest burial site raises question of how residents or authorities could have no knowledge of the graves.

"Something must have failed, maybe intelligence wasn't correct or enough because if we had in place a perfectly designed strategy, situations like those that have occurred, and that have caused so much pain and suffering, would not have happened," said Juan Rosales, the deputy secretary of Durango's Public Safety Department.  

There are increasing concerns that the law, which is supposed to protect its citizens, is instead harming them. 

Some human rights advocates argue police in Durango may have turned a blind eye to the grim crimes going on in their city, citing a recent case in which 17 corrupt Mexican police were arrested for their alleged involvement in a slaughter last month. 

Questions also remain about how the gunmen could have used the burial ground to dump bodies for so long without being caught. 

"This happened gradually," said Jorge Antonio Santiago, a spokesman for the Human Rights Commission in Durango. "These are graves of considerable size, so facing this situation we are asking for an explanation. Why didn't they notice?" 

Durango's morgue is also overwhelmed by the large number of badly decomposed remains. Morgue officials say it has nowhere to fit them all and had to bring in refrigerated trailers to store piles of bodies awaiting examination, a process that has been slow and painstaking. Forensic specialists, wearing masks and sterile suits, are struggling to identify signs such as tattoos or fingerprints from the bodies that still retained some skin. 

Also involved in the identification process are hundreds of families who are taking DNA tests, hoping to find out if any of the dead are their loved ones who violently disappeared months or even years ago. Authorities have only identified one victim so far, a 31-year-old man from the state of Durango. They would not give his name or other details.

La Bandera de Mexico | Militaria For Sale

Flags not only define a nation, but bring a nation together and unite the people. It epitomizes the character of a country and has the ability display the ideals of the society. The flag of Mexico is certainly no different. The most respected symbol among Mexican people is the Mexican flag.

The Mexican flag is vertically divided into three equal sections of green, white and red. Each one of these sections has a distinctive color symbolizing the different aspects of the Mexican nation and the ideals that they hold dear.

The left most vertical band of green represents hope for a better nation, where people join together to achieve and maintain peace. It also represents the independence movement and for freedom.

The central band of white displays the national contains the National Mexican Crest. The symbol of the crest is very important to Mexican people. The emblem-shield symbolizes the Aztec heritage. According to a beautiful legend, the gods had advised the Aztecs that the place where they should establish their city was to be identified when they saw an eagle, perched on a prickly pear tree, devouring a serpent. According to legend this vision came to fruition when this mythical eagle was witnessed on a marshy lake that is now the zocalo or main plaza in Mexico City.

The right hand side of the flag displays a solid vertical band of red. The Mexican people pay tribute to the blood of National Heroes and to others that died during the Mexican revolution against the United States. It gives remembrance to all that fought for Mexican and to those Spaniards that joined in the quest for Mexican independence.

Throughout the history of Mexico, there have been several iterations of the Mexican flag. Before the Mesoamerica was settled by the Spanish, the Mexican people that inhabited the central portion of Mexico used several different emblems and symbols to represent different geographical and political divisions within the country. Some used the ancient emblems and featured very distinctive flags, such as the Aztec flag, or the Tlaxcalteca flag. When the Spaniards arrived in the new world, they began introducing their own flags and symbols as well in to the culture as well.

During the colonial years, the Mexican people did not have a single flag to rally behind or to call their own to represent the territories belonging to "New Spain." At this time it was common to find an amalgamation of symbolism and crests of the Spanish monarch across their claimed territories in the Americas.

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Chispas

Tumultos y rebeliones acaecidos en México

The Journal of intercultural studies

Concise encyclopedia of Mexico