Search Group Reports Progress in Investigations at Izaguirre Ranch, Including Additional Human Remains

More than a year after authorities in Mexico discovered the Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco—a property allegedly used by the Jalisco cartel as a recruitment, training, and extermination site—a search collective says it has made new progress in the recovery and identification of human remains.

The group Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, the same organization that alerted authorities last year to the presence of human remains at the property, said on April 11 that new findings include molars, dental plates and bone fragments, as well as the discovery of a septic pit where additional remains not previously identified were found.

In a statement, Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco said the latest discoveries suggest a larger scale than what had been documented in earlier searches.

"This time, the number of remains found is much higher than last year, which shows the true magnitude of what happened in this place," the group said.

In March 2025, the collective reported finding burned human remains buried underground along with hundreds of pieces of clothing inside the ranch. Despite that evidence, authorities initially disputed that the site was used by the Jalisco cartel for that purpose.

Since then, Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco has continued inspecting the property and says it has collected between 95 and 98 DNA samples, which will be compared against databases provided by relatives of missing persons who have identified clothing recovered at the site, according to Animal Político.

In a social media post, Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco reiterated that the new findings strengthen their claim that the Izaguirre Ranch was used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as a site of systematic violence. The group also said the findings confirm that the CJNG uses properties for forced recruitment.

"What matters most is that what we have always denounced is now being confirmed: forced recruitment, deaths, and everything they were forced to do inside that place," the group said.

Since the property was discovered, authorities have arrested more than 40 people linked to crimes committed at the ranch, 10 of whom have been sentenced to more than 140 years in prison. Among those detained is former Teuchitlán mayor José Ascensión Murguía Santiago, who has been charged with organized crime.

According to court records, one witness who testified against Murguía last year revealed that the former official supplied patrol vehicles, firearms, and municipal police officers to support the criminal organization. In exchange he allegedly received monthly payments of approximately $3,500, delivered in cash at remote locations.

As investigations continue, Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco said the findings must be fully acknowledged by authorities and that the conditions in which the human remains were found should not be minimized.

The group also said that search efforts will continue at the Izaguirre Ranch and other related sites, with the goal of recovering additional evidence, identifying victims and advancing efforts to establish what really happened at the property.

"Work continues and we will return to the site. We are not going to stop," the group said.