Bodies found in eastern Mexico belong to 4 missing youths

MEXICO CITY – The bodies of four young people who had been missing for a week in eastern Mexico have been discovered, along with that of a cab driver, an official said Monday.

Veracruz state prosecutor Luis Angel Bravo told Milenio television that the bodies were found in bags.

His office earlier said that the bodies of two young men and a young woman who disappeared together on Sept. 29 near the Gulf coast city of Veracruz had been identified. The bodies were found Friday in a rural area about 50 miles (80 kilometres) from the port.

“I have said that this incident has strong signs of organized crime involvement,” Bravo said. He said one victim had a criminal record, but could not confirm that was linked to the killing.

On Monday, Dovianid Carranza Baruch, sister of victim Octavio Garcia Baruch, said on Radio Formula that a man dressed in black had approached her on the street in the state capital of Xalapa and warned her that if she kept talking, she would be next.

The fourth victim was a young man who disappeared that day separately.

Veracruz has been wracked by violence and disappearances as the Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation cartel battle for control.