Their lifeless bodies were found in an abandoned cargo truck in the town of La Concordia, not far from the Guatemalan-Mexico border. Fourteen bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in the truck and two more in the cabin. Two more bodies were found next to the truck and one about 100 meters from the vehicle. That makes a total of 19 dead in a probable settling of scores between two drug cartels, the Ministry of Security announced on Monday.
The events allegedly occurred on Friday. According to the ministry, initial investigations indicate that it was a “clash” between the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful in the country, and a rival faction identified as the “Chiapas and Guatemala cartel.”
Several arrests have been made, involving men linked to “drug trafficking, human trafficking, human trafficking and arms trafficking” in the region where these events took place, according to the same source.
Hundreds of soldiers deployed
Last weekend, the federal government ordered the deployment of 1,200 troops to strengthen security along the border with Guatemala. Cartel-related violence has left some 450,000 dead and more than 100,000 missing in Mexico since 2006, when then-President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) launched a military offensive against drug trafficking.
According to the Insight Crime analysis center, the conflict is over control of border cities, a key area for drug and arms trafficking as well as the passage of migrants crossing Mexico to reach the United States.
