Mexican authorities have identified one of seven decomposed bodies, including one that was decapitated, that were found Thursday near Sasabe, Sonora, close to the Arizona border.
Cipiriano Obeso Berrelleza, 38, was identified by relatives, authorities said Friday. He was originally from Caborca, Sonora, and had been arrested three times in the United States for drug trafficking. His family had reported him missing Oct. 21, a news release said, saying they last had contact with him Oct. 17.
All of the deceased are males and had bullet wounds, said Sandra Hurtado, a spokeswoman for the Sonora investigative police. Authorities estimate they had been in the wash where they were found for about five days, she said. Investigators also found spent shells from an assault rifle at the scene.
The men also presented signs of torture, Rafael Pineda, a Sonora reporter and blogger, first reported.
Rancho La Sierrita, where the bodies were located, is about eight miles southwest of San Miguel on the Tohono Oโodham reservation southwest of Tucson.
The ranch is about 160 yards from the U.S. border and is known as a staging area for border crossers.
The federal police rescued 40 people there from Mexico and Central America last year. It has been used to smuggle drugs and migrants since 2006. During the summer, about 400 border crossers, paying about $7,000 each, would leave the place daily to head north, federal authorities said at the time.
During a June 2014 raid four people were arrested, including a man who was allegedly in charge of managing the ranch and collecting payments from smugglers.
The 2014 incident also caused problems on this side of the border. During the operation, a Mexican law-enforcement helicopter crossed the border and shots were fired. The Border Patrol union said then that the helicopter flew about 100 yards into Arizona and agents came under fire.
But Mexican authorities denied reports that any gunfire was directed at U.S. agents. Instead, the shots came from smugglers who opened fire as helicopters flown by federal police and military personnel swooped in, they said.
Another 132 migrants were rescued in 2011 from La Sierrita, which is in the Sonora town of Altar. The majority were from Mexico but there were some from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, according to newspaper archives.
The investigation is ongoing.
