‘Another Version of Rancho Izaguirre’: Bodies Burned in a Drum of Diesel, Gasoline and Soap, Bones Dumped in a Creek at Xalisco Site Near Tepic, Nayarit’s Top Prosecutor Says
Bodies were burned in a barrel filled with diesel, gasoline and soap, and the charred bones were dumped in a creek, Nayarit’s top prosecutor said of a rural property in La Curva, in the municipality of Xalisco on the outskirts of Tepic. She called it “another version of Rancho Izaguirre,” the Jalisco ranch that became a national symbol of Mexico’s disappearance crisis. Investigators have been processing the site since Oct. 3, 2026, and also found a clandestine grave with recently buried bodies, Infobae, AP (via Proceso) and EFE reported on Oct. 6.
What the prosecutor described
State Attorney General Elvia Ludmila Heredia Verdugo said an anonymous tip led search groups and her office to the property, El Universal reported. “We are processing an extermination center by incineration,” she said, as quoted by EFE. She described a makeshift “hornilla,” or burner, where a drum was filled with fuel and soap “so it sticks to the skin and the fabric.” According to El Universal, she said bone fragments were scattered in the stream and that “three fragments represent one body.” Prosecutors told AP on Oct. 6 they had not yet determined how many bodies or remains are at the site. Genetic testing is planned to identify the dead.
Who ran it?
El Universal reported the property was used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as an “extermination center.” AP said only that the CJNG operates in Nayarit. No one has been charged over the site in the sources reviewed. At the same news conference, Infobae reported, Heredia presented suspects arrested in a separate investigation into narco-banners after a raid in Ópalo, also in Xalisco. They include an alleged recruiter who prosecutors say moved young recruits from Tepic to the state’s north to guard the corridor toward Sinaloa, Durango and Zacatecas.
Families searching
Mothers from the Colectivo Familias Unidas por Nayarit joined the dig over the weekend. The group said bone fragments, objects and clothing were recovered but cannot yet be identified, AP reported. Member Alma Ríos told AP she hopes to find her husband, Alberto López, taken in front of her in September 2019. Nayarit has 2,148 people reported missing, according to AP.
Sources
- Infobae, “Localizan centro de exterminio en Nayarit con prendas y huesos calcinados,” Oct. 6, 2026
- AP via Proceso, “Autoridades localizan presunto centro de exterminio y fosa clandestina en Nayarit,” Oct. 6, 2026
- EFE via Infobae, “Autoridades investigan presunto ‘centro de exterminio’ en estado mexicano de Nayarit,” Oct. 6, 2026
- El Universal, “Hallan presunto centro de exterminio del CJNG en Nayarit,” Oct. 6, 2026
- Photos: Colectivo Familias Unidas por Nayarit, via Proceso; Gobierno de Nayarit, via Infobae
Reported Oct. 7, 2026, from the sources above. Authorities have not released a victim count or identified any remains, and no one has been charged in connection with the site in the reports reviewed.