GRAPHIC: Cartel Gunmen Dump 8 Bodies on Border State Highway in Mexico

A member of Mexican National Guard watches the border with the US at the Anapra area in Ci
HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images
Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby

Unknown gunmen dumped the bodies of eight men along a highway in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua. The gory crime scene comes at a time when cartel violence continues to spread through most of Mexico while government officials claim security has improved nationwide.

The incident took place on Sunday morning along the highway that connects Chihuahua City with the border city of Juarez when authorities responded to calls of several bodies piled up in a field, the state Attorney General’s Office revealed in a statement.

Initial reports pointed to as many as 13 bodies, and some accounts pointed to nine bodies. However, Chihuahua state authorities revealed that it was eight bodies that had been left behind. Information from authorities points to the bodies likely having been killed in another location and then moved there since there were no ballistic remains in the area.

Local news outlets pointed to a series of messages scrawled on posterboards left behind at the crime scene. However, authorities did not reveal the content of the messages nor the criminal organization behind the mass killings.

The state of Chihuahua has a long history of cartel violence as various criminal organizations continue to fight for control of lucrative drug and human trafficking routes north. Several smaller organizations allied with the Sinaloa Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, or Cartel Jalisco New Generation have a presence in the region and, at times, have waged turf wars.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

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