12 bodies bearing signs of torture found with cartel messages in Mexico, authorities say

Twelve bodies — all bearing signs of torture and left with messages by cartels — were found on Thursday in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, local authorities said, attributing the killings to disputes between organized crime groups.

Guanajuato, a thriving industrial center that is also home to popular tourist destinations, is currently Mexico’s most violent state, according to official homicide statistics.

The 12 bodies were found within two hours in five locations in the city of Salamanca, according to the state prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the crime.

The victims — three women and nine men — were found on roads, bridges and avenues, their bodies bearing gunshot wounds and signs of torture, while one was dismembered, officials said.

The state prosecutor’s office also said the perpetrators left messages in which a cartel claimed responsibility.

Messages are often left on victims’ bodies by drug cartels seeking to threaten their rivals or punish behavior they claim violates their rules.

The bodies were found less than 24 hours after gunmen attacked a residential center for people suffering from addictions in the same municipality, killing four.

“This month of October has started with very high crime rates here. That makes 16 people (murdered) so far,” Salamanca Mayor Cesar Prieto told reporters.

But he said the violence affecting the city was “a temporary issue” that flares up “when one group decides to attack another.”

In Guanajuato, two cartels, the Santa Rosa de Lima and the powerful Jalisco New Generation, are currently at war. 

Police, politicians and civilians have all been targeted in Guanajuato. In June, a baby and a toddler were among six members of the same family murdered in Guanajuato. In April, a mayoral candidate was shot dead in the street in Guanajuato just as she began campaigning.

Last December, 11 people were killed and another dozen were wounded in an attack on a pre-Christmas party in the state. Just days before that, the bodies of five university students were found stuffed in a vehicle on a dirt road Guanajuato.

The U.S. State Department urges Americans to reconsider traveling to Guanajuato. “Of particular concern is the high number of murders in the southern region of the state associated with cartel-related violence,” the department says in a travel advisory.

Hit by spiraling violence linked to organized crime, Mexico has recorded more than 450,000 murders since December 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug operation was launched.

New President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that she will present her national security plan next Tuesday.