Ten bodies stopped in an SUV and parked outside the governor’s palace in Mexico

The bodies were the bodies of eight men and two women, tied to hands and feet and strangled

Article content

Mexican authorities have arrested two suspects after an SUV crammed with 10 bodies was parked outside the governor’s office in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico.

Article content

The bodies were wrapped in a gray Mazda SUV and left at dawn in the main square lit with a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations, officials said Thursday. A man left the vehicle and fled down an alley, they said.

The bodies were of eight men and two women between the ages of 18 and 45, who were strangled and tied around their hands and feet, according to Digis Mak.

David Monreal, the governor of the central government, said in a video filmed on the square that the bodies had clear signs of beatings and bruises.

“They came to leave them here in front of the palace,” he said, referring to his offices in a centuries-old building on the Plaza de Armas in the state capital, also called Zacatecas.

Monreal noted that security has been compromised in Zacateas and promised to curb the violence.

“Asked after a while we will regain our peace. What we received was a cursed legacy,” he said.

The state is an important route for drugs moving north to the U.S. border.

Article content

Two of Mexico’s largest cartels – Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation – are in a bloody battle for control of Zacatecas, while the fallen Zetas cartel (if the remnants now call themselves “Taliban”), the Gulf cartel and tertiary gangs also carry out criminal activities and compete control.

The state has become one of the most violent regions in the country due to turf wars among rival gangs. In 2021, the state registered 1,050 murders, about 260 more than in 2020, according to official data.

Additional reporting from Reuters