OJO DE AGUA, Mexico (Reuters) - A Mexican drug suspect has confessed to dissolving the bodies of 300 rivals with corrosive chemicals near the U.S. border, in a claim highlighting the brutality of Mexico's drug war.
Santiago Meza, known as "The Stew Maker," told journalists he did away with bodies in industrial drums on the outskirts of the violent city of Tijuana.
More than 700 people died in Tijuana last year as rival gangs battled for control of the city's lucrative drug trade. Many others are missing and believed dead after being abducted.
The suspect, who was paraded before journalists by the army on Friday, said he was paid $600 a week by a breakaway faction of the Arellano Felix cartel to dispose of slain rivals with caustic soda, a highly corrosive substance.
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Meza, 45, said he had been getting rid of bodies for 10 years.
The bodies took 24 hours to dissolve but left some remains that were dumped in a nearby pit, Meza said.
A high-ranking army officer told Reuters he believed Meza, who was arrested with three other people on Thursday, was telling the truth.
Police have previously recovered human remains burned with acid in and around the city. more
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