Brian McDonald
Nine bodies were found Wednesday in a northern Mexican state reeling from a wave of drug cartel-related violence, authorities said, the second such discovery in as many days. A homicide investigation was launched after the bodies of nine men were found in the town of Morelos in Zacatecas, State Public Ministry said.
It happened just one day after nine bodies were found on an avenue in the city of Fresnillo, also in the state of Zacatecas. Messages addressed to a criminal group were found with these remains, authorities said. The bodies were dumped near a market two days after gang members blocked roads and burned vehicles in response to the capture of 13 suspected criminals. A pickup truck was being examined for evidence, authorities said.
The state prosecutor’s office said five of the victims in Fresnillo were identified and their bodies were released to relatives.
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Fresnillo is considered by its residents to be the most dangerous city in Mexico.
Around 450,000 people have been murdered across the country since 2006, when the government launched a controversial anti-drug offensive involving the military, according to official figures.
Cartel activity and violence in Zacatecas
Zacatecas, which has one of the highest per capita homicide rates of any Mexican state, is a major transit point for drugs, especially the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl, moving north to the U.S. border.
Zacatecas has been the scene of bloody territorial battles between the Jalisco and Sinaloa drug cartels. The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration told CBS News in 2022 that the two cartels were behind the fentanyl influx it is killing tens of thousands of Americans.
Last September, a search team was looking for seven young people kidnapped in Zacatecas found six bodies and a survivor in a remote area.
Authorities in Zacatecas confirmed that a US resident was among four people dead in the state around Christmas 2022. Earlier that year, law enforcement agencies five men and one woman were found dumped on the side of a road in Zacatecas, and the bodies of eight men and two women They were found crammed into a pickup truck left near a Christmas tree in the main square of the capital of São Paulo.
The U.S. State Department has issued a “do not travel” advisory for Zacatecas, warning Americans to avoid the state due to the threat of crime.
“Violent crime, extortion and gang activity are common in the state of Zacatecas,” says the statement.
