At least 20 bodies found in vehicles in western Mexico

[News_Editor]

At least 20 bodies found in vehicles in western Mexico

2011-11-25 00:38:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Authorities in western Mexico have found the bodies of at least 20 people which were left in three parked vehicles, officials said on Thursday, a day after 17 bodies were found in two pickup trucks in a nearby state.

The latest bodies were discovered at around 7 a.m. local time on Thursday after receiving an anonymous call which stated at least 10 bodies had been left at the Glorieta de los Arcos del Milenio monument in Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Officials said at least ten bodies were found in a van which had been parked between two streets near the monument. In a vehicle parked about 20 meters (65 feet) away, at least eight additional bodies were found. A third vehicle was found to contain two more bodies.

On the outside of one of the vehicles was a large canvas signed by organized crime group 'Milenio-Zetas,' which is a new alliance formed between the drug cartels 'Los Zetas' and 'Milenio.' According to Mexico's National Defense Department, the two groups have joined to fight off the 'Jalisco Nueva Generacion' (New Generation Jalisco) drug cartel and control the state's drug trafficking operations.

The discovery of the bodies comes just one day after twelve bodies were found completely burned inside a pickup truck which had been parked in the Antonio Rosales neighborhood of Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state. Neighbors had called police after seeing the truck on fire, which led to the discovery of the bodies in the back of the truck under wooden boxes.

Sinaloa Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera Gómez said another burning pickup truck was reported near a shopping center in northern Culiacán a short time later. Police found five bodies inside the second vehicle, including one which had been decapitated.

In a third and fourth incident in the state on Wednesday, four people were found murdered in the town of Los Pericos in northern Sinaloa while three bodies were discovered in the town of Guamuchil. Police are still investigating if all or some of the attacks are related.

The state of Sinaloa is home to one of the country's most powerful drug cartels, the Sinaloa cartel which is headed by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, also known as 'El Chapo.'

On Tuesday, Mexican authorities said army troops seized more than $15 million in cash believed to belong 'El Chapo.' Soldiers found the money on Friday when they carried out a surprise search of a car in the Cumbres de Juárez neighborhood of Tijuana. According to authorities, the $15.3 million in cash was going to be delivered to a center of operations of the Sinaloa cartel.

According to government figures, a total of 15,273 drug-related crimes were reported to authorities in Mexico in 2010. More than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderón began his campaign to fight organized crime in December 2006.

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