MEXICO CITY — Authorities are investigating a mass grave in southern Mexico containing 167 bodies that may have been dumped there at least 50 years ago, a Mexican official said on Saturday.

The remains, found in a cave near the Guatemalan border,
“disintegrated at the touch,” said the official at the Chiapas state
prosecutor’s office.

Investigators are trying to determine the age and gender of the
victims and the cause of death, the official said on condition of
anonymity.

The advanced state of decomposition suggests they are at least 50
years old, he said, adding there were no obvious signs of violence.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET — Twenty-two passengers on Carnival Splendor were robbed at gunpoint Thursday while on a ship-sponsored tour in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

At least one Mexican media outlet said the passengers were returning by bus to their ship at approximately 5 p.m. after spending time in El Nogalito, a tourist area known for its lush natural setting. Masked assailants stopped the bus and robbed the cruisers of their money, watches, cameras and other valuables.

(CNN) — Mexico’s state-owned oil company searched in rough seas Friday for 10 workers missing from a U.S.-owned oil vessel in the tropical-storm-roiled Gulf of Mexico.

The workers, contracted by Texas-based Geokinetics, abandoned ship Thursday afternoon after Tropical Storm Nate caused their liftboat to take on water in the Bay of Campeche, according to Brenda Taquino, spokeswoman for Geokinetics.

The crew of a ship several miles away saw the workers board a life raft, but conditions were too dangerous for them to assist, Taquino said.

LOS FRESNOS, Texas — Police wearing berets and bulletproof vests broke down the door of a Guatemala City apartment in February hunting for illegal drugs. Instead, they found a different kind of illicit shipment: 27 immigrants from India packed into two locked rooms.

The Indians, whose hiding space was furnished only with soiled mattresses, claimed to be on vacation. But authorities quickly concluded they were waiting to be smuggled into the United States via an 11,000-mile pipeline of human cargo — the same network that has transported thousands of illegal immigrants from India, through Central America and Mexico and over the sandy banks of the Rio Grande during the past two years.

(CNN) — A 130-year-old photo, billed as the only authenticated picture of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, sold for $2.3 million at a Denver auction Saturday night.

The Kid reportedly paid 25 cents to have the photo taken in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

The Old West Show & Auction had estimated the tintype — an early photographic technique that used metal plates — to bring in between $300,000 and $400,000.

Acapulco, Mexico (CNN) — For the past 18 years, folk musician Raymundo Oregon has been playing his accordion in one of Mexico’s favorite destinations for international tourists: the beach resort of Acapulco.

The 56-year-old knows the seasons and the tourists. He’s seen the good times and the bad, and this is definitely a low point for his beloved coastal city.

MEXICO CITY – A convoy of gunmen chased their target into a home in the resort city of Acapulco and sprayed the residence with bullets on Tuesday, killing two small children and an elderly woman inside, authorities said.

Police in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said witnesses reported the man tried to escape from the attackers by hiding inside the house. A woman, 60, was killed, along with two boys ages 2 and 6, police said in a statement. A 23-year-old woman was also wounded.

This 25th year of tracking global wealth was one to remember. The 2011 Billionaires List breaks two records: total number of listees (1,210) and combined wealth ($4.5 trillion). This horde surpasses the gross domestic product of Germany, one of only six nations to have fewer billionaires this year. BRICs led the way: Brazil, Russia, India and China produced 108 of the 214 new names. These four nations are home to one in four members, up from one in ten five years ago. B

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A U.S. university student was shot to death, becoming the fifth American slain in this violent border city in six days, Mexican and U.S. authorities said Wednesday.

Eder Diaz, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, was killed Tuesday evening along with a classmate, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. The consulate said it had not yet confirmed whether the other victim was also a U.S. citizen.

(CNN) — Authorities in the Mexican border city of Tijuana have seized 105 tons of marijuana, the largest bust in years, the state news agency reported Monday.

Security forces encountered several vehicles suspected of carrying the drug early Monday morning, Notimex said.