After 72 migrants die in extortion attempt, Mexico seeks countries' help in identifying victims
By the CNN Wire Staff
Mexican investigators have asked diplomats from El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and Brazil to help identify the bodies of 72 presumed migrants discovered at a ranch in northeast Mexico.
The nationalities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed, according to a statement released by Mexican President Felipe Calderon's office late Wednesday.
Brazil said its foreign ministry was informed there were at least four Brazilians among the dead, the official Agencia Brazil news service reported Wednesday evening.
The statement by Calderon said the Mexican president "strongly condemns the acts that caused the death of 72 people, suspected to be migrants," and said that drug gangs are repeatedly turning to extortion and kidnapping of migrants as their resources and recruits dwindle.
"This is a result of the activity of the state against them, which has significantly weakened the operational capacity of criminal groups," Calderon's office said.
