19 arrested in Mexico in connection with body of infant found in prison

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Local authorities in Mexico arrested 19 people Monday in connection with the discovery of the body of a three-month-old baby in a prison dumpster.

The prosecutor’s office in the state of Puebla said that staff workers, including upper management of the prison, are awaiting trial on charges including abuse of authority.

The dead infant was found in a garbage dumpster on Jan. 10 by an inmate who was looking for plastic bottles in the trash.

According to the investigation, the baby’s corpse was exhumed from a cemetery in Mexico City, over two hours away from the penitentiary.

On Saturday, authorities said the infant had a name tag on its wrist which officials used to locate its relatives or guardians. After DNA testing, however, both biological parents were found.

The autopsy performed on the remains showed that the baby had a surgical scar over 2.5 inches long on his abdomen.

Authorities and activists have said that the remains may have been tampered with and introduced into the prison to smuggle drugs. However, the investigation is pending confirmation of the gruesome theory as officials have neither confirmed nor denied it.

Puebla Governor Miguel Barbosa has fired the secretary of public security as well as the head of the penitentiary facilities to the state.

This is the fourth time an official in Puebla has been removed as secretary of public security following a controversial event. Last year, Barbosa fired the public security minister following the murder of three students and an Uber driver.

Speaking at a press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador lamented the events and said that what happened resulted from the lingering effects from previous administrations.

“It is the same thing, the result of social decomposition. They are unfortunate events that should not happen, but they have to do with the recent past. That is what the neoliberal policy left us,” he said.