Mexico’s most notorious drug lords are turning death into a display of wealth, with luxury mausoleums fitted with air conditioning, bulletproof glass, CCTV cameras and even WiFi at the Jardines del Humaya cemetery.
According to the BBC, the cemetery has become one of the strongest symbols of Mexico’s growing narco culture, where fortunes generated through drug trafficking are flaunted long after death.
While many victims of cartel violence are buried in unmarked graves, cartel bosses accused of orchestrating the bloodshed are laid to rest in lavish crypts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Several high-profile figures linked to the Sinaloa Cartel are buried there, including Arturo Beltrán Leyva, whose remains lie in a gold-plated coffin.
Nearby is Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, another feared trafficker whose mausoleum features tequila bottles, horse sculptures and religious symbols.
Above his burial chamber sits what resembles a private apartment, complete with a bedroom, bathroom and living room.
According to The Sun, some of the mausoleums cost up to Sh159 million and include security features meant to shield visiting relatives from rival gangs.
Several are fitted with CCTV systems, bulletproof doors and reinforced walls, while others rise two storeys high with balconies, stained-glass windows and rooftop terraces.
One crypt reportedly linked to a cartel hitman contains illuminated crosses, glass cases displaying swords and surveillance cameras monitoring every entrance.
Another resembles a luxury apartment, complete with couches arranged for mourners.
The cemetery also highlights the unusual mix of religion, violence and status associated with cartel culture, where crucifixes stand beside symbols of power.
Some traffickers are linked to the worship of folk saints such as Jesús Malverde and Santa Muerte, figures believed by followers to offer protection from death and imprisonment.
Juan Carlos Ayala, a philosophy professor at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa who studies narco culture, notes that the grand graves are an expression of the power these men once had and a manifestation of their desire for eternity, which he describes as natural in any human being.
Professor Ayala adds that the lavish structures also serve as a demonstration to those who survive them that the deceased was important.
Behind the marble staircases, however, lies a harsher reality.
Reports indicate that nearly 40 per cent of Sinaloa’s population once lived in poverty, making the extravagant tombs even more striking.
According to the BBC, new mausoleums are constantly being built, waiting for the next generation of traffickers.
Photos: Courtesy, AFP via BBC