There are at least 57 cases of missing persons on Mexico’s “highway of death” near the US border.

(CNN) – Since January of this year, at least 57 people traveling along Mexico’s “highway of death” have been reported missing near the southeastern border between the United States and Mexico, the state Attorney General’s Office reported on Friday. Mexican from Tamaulipas.

The approximately 217-kilometer stretch of highway, near the southeastern border between Mexico and the United States, is known for the strong presence of drug cartels such as the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel, among other criminal organizations.

«As a result of the complaints filed for the disappearance of people on the Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo highway, the Attorney General’s Offices of Nuevo León (FJGNL) and Tamaulipas (FGJT) initiated the corresponding (investigations according to) their powers and jurisdictions “Said a statement from the Tamaulipas Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.

There could be more people missing after passing the road

The number of “investigations” does not reflect the total number of missing persons since January, as each investigation case may contain one or more missing persons, a spokesman for the Tamaulipas Prosecutor’s Office told CNN on Sunday.

In recent weeks, 18 people were found in Nuevo León state and 16 in Tamaulipas state, according to Friday’s statement.

However, 11,542 people are still missing in Tamaulipas and 5,257 in Nuevo León, according to official data.

Disappearance of US citizens

Among the latest missing, there are at least three US citizens.

On Saturday, the FBI Office in San Antonio, Texas, reported three US citizens from Laredo, Texas, as missing, saying that “Gladys Pérez Sánchez, 39, and her two children were last seen on June 13 after a visit with family members in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León ».

More than 89,000 people are still missing in Mexico from 1964 to date, according to data from the Government’s National Search Commission.