ZITLALA, Mexico, Nov. 25 (UPI) — Mexican authorities said a tip from local residents in a rural southern state led to the grisly discovery of 32 dead bodies and nine decapitated heads.
The killings came amid a wave of violence between rival drug cartels in Guererro state. Residents in the mountainous town of Zitlala told police that several individuals were being held hostage in the area as part of a kidnapping plot by members of a drug cartel. When Mexican army officials arrived in the area to investigate, they made the discovery.
Officials said they discovered 32 bodies in clandestine graves and nine severed heads stored in coolers. It is a common practice for drug cartels engaged in violence to decapitate captured members of a rival gang, police said.
One kidnapping victim was rescued alive.
Investigators were working to identify the dead and determine whether the severed heads belong to the nine decapitated bodies found on a roadside in the region on Monday.
Guerrero state has been subject to intense violence recently as the nation’s drug cartels battle for prime smuggling routes through the remote region.
