Nine bodies recovered along Tecate border route

Reporting and context

Search collectives recovered nine bodies and additional skeletal remains in Tecate, Baja California, on September 5 and 10, according to ZETA Tijuana. Four victims were found during the first search and five during the second, along routes connecting the border with Rancho La Uva. Most of the remains were in an advanced state of decomposition.

According to ZETA Tijuana, the searches were organized after anonymous informants contacted Madres Hasta Encontrarte with coordinates and photographs. The collective joined with other search groups from Tecate and Baja California. The report said searchers and National Guard personnel faced steep terrain and extreme heat; during the September 10 operation, temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius, and some participants suffered heat exhaustion, dehydration and disorientation. The remains were eventually transferred to Semefo in Tijuana for identification.

ZETA Tijuana reported that investigators had not yet established the causes of death. Some remains showed no visible signs of violence, while investigators said at least two victims had characteristics that could indicate gunshot wounds. The report said authorities were considering whether some migrants may have been abandoned by people smugglers or killed after failing to pay for passage, but those possibilities remained unconfirmed.

The report cited 2021 estimates from the International Organization for Migration that 600 to 800 migrants die each year trying to cross into the United States through Baja California, while local activists believe the actual number is higher. ZETA Tijuana also reported that migrants interviewed by investigators said they paid between $20,000 and $40,000 to travel from Tecate toward a specific U.S. destination, and that intelligence personnel had confirmed the presence of Sinaloa and Jalisco cartel cells in the corridor.