The Izaguirre Ranch, allegedly used by the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) as a recruitment and extermination site, continues to dominate headlines and cause controversy nearly two months since its discovery.
Now, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said that an investigation found no evidence the ranch, located in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, was used to cremate human remains, as initially believed.
Colectivo Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, a group dedicated to searching for loved ones whose whereabouts in Mexico are unknown, claimed to discover burned human remains buried underground along with hundreds of pieces of clothing inside the ranch. However, authorities are disputing that cremations took place in the ranch.
"It is already fully proven that the Izaguirre Ranch was a recruitment and training operational center used by the CJNG," Gertz Manero said while addressing reporters. "The property was being used for those purposes, and we have evidence dating back to 2021," he said.
Referring to claims about the property also being used to cremate human bodies, Gertz Manero said federal investigations found no evidence to support those claims.
"Was there a cremation site there? There is not a single piece of evidence to support that claim," Gertz Manero said. To back his claim he referenced an analysis by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which showed that forensic experts found no heating levels above 200 degrees in any of the burned areas at the property. "To carry out a cremation, temperatures need to reach 800 degrees," he emphasized.
The UNAM analysis, which censored certain parts, showed that "demagnetization by temperature" in both the burned and unaffected areas did not reveal any signs of reheating above 200 degrees.
However, El País noted that Gertz Manero's statements contradict a study conducted by Mexico's Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation, which identified "high concentrations" o ash and smoke from bonfires fueled by "hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel and tires."
Another claim made by Gertz Manero on April 29 appeared to contradict his earlier statements about the discovery of human remains at the Izaguirre Ranch. Last month he said that human remains had been found at the property in Teuchitlán, Jalisco.
"As of right now, there are human remains, although they have not been technically defined," Gertz Manero said in March.
A testimony from one of the CJNG leaders who oversaw recruitment at the ranch also acknowledged that the group killed individuals who resisted training or attempted to escape.
However, in his latest remarks, Gertz Manero stated the opposite. "No bodies or bones—whether complete or partial skeletons—were found at the property," he said.
"What was found were trenches and some holes that had been used for bonfires," Gertz Manero added, noting that authorities also found a small jar containing bone fragments. The vessel was discovered on a mound of dirt by members of the National Guard and local authorities.
As El País reported, the jar was first found in September 2024, after authorities responded to an anonymous tip about a property allegedly used by the CJNG as a confinement, training, and extermination site. During that initial investigation, members of the National Guard arrested 10 suspects and rescued two individuals who had been kidnapped by the criminal group.
Gertz Manero is yet to confirm how many people were held at the Izaguirre Ranch or the potential number of victims.
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