GUANAJUATO, MEXICO – Twelve bodies bearing evidence of torture were discovered on Thursday throughout the city of Salamanca in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. Local authorities allege the murders resulted from disputes between organized crime groups.
As an industrial hub and popular tourist site, Guanajuato holds the unfortunate title of Mexico’s most violent state based on official homicide data. The dozen bodies, attributed to cartel interventions, were located within a two-hour window across five areas within the city.
The state prosecutor’s office indicated that three of the victims were women, while nine were men. Each had been subjected to gunshot wounds and torture, and one victim was dismembered. Officials from the state prosecutor’s office also reported that sinister messages were left with each corpse by a cartel claiming responsibility, a common tactic used by drug cartels to intimidate rival groups or condemn alleged rule violations.
News of these discoveries came within twenty-four hours of an armed attack on a residential addiction treatment center in Salamanca, which resulted in the death of four individuals. Salamanca Mayor Cesar Prieto conceded to the major spike in crime rates this month, pointing out that a total of 16 individuals had been murdered so far.
Prieto described the current state of violence in the city as “a temporary issue” that escalates when one group decides to attack another. Two major cartels, the Santa Rosa de Lima and the powerful Jalisco New Generation, are currently battling in Guanajuato.
The local crimes that have occurred in the state have also impacted police officers, politicians, and civilians. The U.S. State Department advises Americans to reconsider traveling to Guanajuato, citing the immense number of murders in the southern region as a result of cartel-related violence.
Mexico has slated the announcement of a new national security plan for next Tuesday as the country struggles to manage the violence affiliated with organized crime that has led to over 450,000 murders since December 2006.