At least 20 bodies have been recovered in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa, a region plagued by violent clashes between rival drug cartels. Four headless bodies were found by a roadside near the state capital, Culiacan, while sixteen more bodies were discovered inside an abandoned car, along with a bag containing five human heads. Police also found a note near the bodies, believed to be from a drug gang, though its contents have not been released.
Local authorities suspect the killings are linked to an internal conflict between factions loyal to Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, co-founders of the Sinaloa Cartel. Violence in the region has escalated since Zambada’s arrest last year; he is currently on trial in the United States. Sinaloa government spokesman Feliciano Castro condemned the killings and called for a review of strategies to combat organized crime, while residents voiced concerns over the government’s inability to control the spiraling violence.
