In a sign of the spreading violence in Mexico, 12 decapitated bodies were found late Thursday near the colonial city of Merida on the Yucatan peninsula, officials said.
The bodies bore signs of torture and some were unclothed. Yucatan state officials said a 12th decapitated body was found later about 120 miles south of Merida, a city that is often used as a tourist gateway to the famed Maya ruins at Chichen Itza.
Warring drug gangs have routinely decapitated rivals during the last two years as they battle for coveted routes for smuggling drugs into the United States.
Four decapitated bodies were found in Tijuana this week, killings that appeared to be linked to fighting among traffickers over control of the corridor into San Diego.
Headless bodies also have turned up in other corners of Mexico as violence has spread beyond traditional battlegrounds along the U.S. border.
The website of the newspaper El Universal said the bodies found in Yucatan were handcuffed and showed signs that they had been beaten. Reuters news agency, citing unnamed police officials, reported that the bodies were marked with star signs and tattooed with the letter Z.
State authorities said they were alerted to the bodies by an anonymous phone call. The discovery prompted an emergency meeting of the state’s governor, Ivonne Ortega, and top security officials.
The Yucatan peninsula has seen scattered violence but had not been a scene of severe fighting between drug-trafficking groups.
Four More Decapitations Earlier In The Week In Tijuana
A Mexican official is downplaying the significance of this week’s discovery of five bodies, four of them decapitated, in the border town of Tijuana.
Two bodies were found on a hillside and three others were discovered in an illegal dump, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. The deaths has revived concerns that organized crime groups are escalating their battle for control of the border city.
But Tijuana’s secretary of public security compared the killings to barely noticed Los Angeles-area gang slayings.
“The only difference here is how dramatic the deaths are,” Alberto Capella Ibarra told the Times.
One of the victims was found with his head placed on his upper back. Three others had their heads placed at their feet.
Authorities haven’t identified the victims but say they may have been associates of reputed drug cartel leader Fernando Sanchez Arellano, the Times said.
It’s time we here in the United States get rid of the illegals
here and build a fence… asap…
This is a terrible thing. I see the world regressing so quickly. May as well go back to the Al Capone days and turn our backs to them, let them kill each other off, what good are they to our society. I know it is harsh, but if they are caught, they will be getting the death penality anyway.
I just hope that no innocent people get hurt in the cross fire.
I agree it’s past time to build the fence, but out leaders are fine right now with head removal. they won’t give a rats behind until someone does the water board trick.