Seven men were found dead along a road in a popular Mexico tourist area, their bodies badly beaten and with warning messages written on their corpses.
The bodies were found in the township of Aquismon, located in the Huasteca region, but prosecutors in San Luis Potosi state said it didn’t appear as though the men were actually from the town and may have been killed somewhere else.
The Associated Press reported that “Photos of the bodies showed extensive bruising on the corpses, suggesting they had been beaten.” Messages were also written on the bodies, saying “this is what happened to me for working with the Gulf.”
“The Gulf” apparently refers to the Gulf Cartel, a gang that typically works along the U.S. border far to the north. The bodies were reportedly signed by “Valles Operation O.B.,” a reference to a rival gang, the AP reported.
CBS News reported that the U.S. Department of Justice extradited former Gulf Cartel leader Mario Cardenas-Guillen to Texas to face drug trafficking charges.
“For decades, the Gulf Cartel has used intimidation and extreme violence to maintain control of its territories in northeast Mexico and smuggle deadly drugs into communities across the United States,” Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement released by the DOJ. “The extradition of Mario Cardenas Guillen, the former leader of the Gulf Cartel, should send a clear message to the leaders of drug trafficking organizations around the world that no one is beyond the reach of the DEA and our law enforcement partners.”
Cardenas-Guillen has been charged with conspiracy with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in federal prison.
CBS noted that the bodies found in Aquismon are the most recent deaths linked to gangs and cartels.
“On Tuesday, gunmen killed five high school students and a woman in a street shooting in Guanajuato state, an area where gangs fight for control of trafficking routes for drugs and stolen fuel,” the outlet reported. “Two weeks before that, eight women and three men were killed in an apparent gangland revenge attack on two bars and a hotel in Celaya, another city in Guanajuato.”
There have been more than 340,000 murders in Mexico since December 2006, when the Mexican government started a controversial operation aimed at reducing drug crimes.