The decapitated bodies of five men were found abandoned along a highway in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday amid ongoing cartel violence.
The Jalisco attorney general’s office reported that local authorities responded to a call from Mexico’s National Guard about bodies found abandoned along Federal Highway 80 in the town of Ojuelos, near the border with Zacatecas.
The nature of the crime and the public disposal of the bodies suggest the involvement of drug cartels. Authorities have vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice after the gruesome discovery.
“Several security personnel corroborated the find of five bodies, apparently all of them males, with their pants and wrapped in plastic bags,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement dated Oct. 13.
Authorities also found “another bag that apparently contained the heads of the victims that so far could not be specified ages.
“An agent of the Public Prosecutor’s Office supported by the Investigative Police was present and initiated an investigation folder to clarify the facts and capture whoever is responsible.
“The area has been processed by experts from the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences (IJCF), while personnel from the Forensic Medical Service will be in charge of transferring the bodies to their facilities where the autopsy will be carried out, among other opinions.”
The grisly murders come days after the governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, reported that members of a crime syndicate had blocked a highway and burned vehicles to prevent reinforcements from arriving to assist after the National Guard arrested two gang members.
Figures show that 1,415 people were murdered between January and September in Jalisco amid a flurry of criminal activity and gang wars.
The area is the territory of the Jalisco New Generation, which is known for cannibalizing some victims during the training of new sicarios, or members, as well as deploying drones and rocket-propelled grenades to target people.
Jalisco New Generation traffics cocaine and methamphetamine. It is led by “El Mencho,” Mexico’s most-wanted fugitive and among the top targets in the United States. The U.S. government is offering a $10 million reward, while Mexico is offering 30 million pesos ($1.55 million) for information leading to his arrest.
Over 30,000 people are killed every year in Mexico, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed mayor of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, was assassinated just six days into office on October 6. Arcos began receiving threats almost immediately after assuming office.
His severed head was placed on the roof of a truck while his body was left in the vehicle.
Chilpancingo is a city in southern Mexico known for its violent crime and drug trafficking.
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