GUERRERO.- During an anticipated press conference today, that was delayed forty minutes, Mexico's Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced that the bodies of the 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, known as normalistas, had been found.

Mr. Karam described the search efforts as one of the most complex that his office has ever engaged in, and named each of the suspects detained for being the masterminds behind the massacre that occurred on September 26.

He also detailed the students itinerary on that night, from the time they left Ayotzinapa until arriving in Iguala, where the massacre occurred, and later on in Cocula as hostages of a criminal group known as Guerreros Unidos.

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According to declarations of one of the detainees, Agustin Garcia Reyes "El Chereje", around 15 students were dead prior to getting off the bus that the Guerreros Unidos cartel was using to kidnap them. After this, they separated the living from the dead to burn them.

"The fire continued from midnight until 2pm the next day", according to Karam, "While another account is that it continued until 3pm on September 27th [...] The calcified bones were crushed and placed in black backs which were emptied into the San Juan river, except for two which we have obtained."

Teeth, ashes, and small bones were displayed on a screen as proof of the testimony of "el Chereje", who lead the search team to the site where the bodies were burned and disposed of.

Although at the start of conference Karam indicated that these declarations have not been confirmed, and that for now they will continue to consider the 43 normalistas as missing persons until confirmation that the bones belong to the student body.

"I have no doubt that massive homicide took place [...] I have to do whatever is possible to determine if these are the students. There are indications, but no certainty".

Elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com