police line crime scene
Mexico Captures Zetas Drug Cartel Leader Involved in Mass Murders and an American Death Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The bodies of six half-naked individuals were spotted by drivers at a bridge in Zacatecas, northern Mexico on Thursday, Aug. 12.

Per reports, the hanging bodies are believed to be tied to the cartel clashes plaguing the capital of the state of Zacatecas. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been battling for control of key trafficking routes for the past months.

In the first six months of the year to June, roughly 536 people have been killed. This is a 57% jump from the same period of last year.

In June alone, the Sinaloa Cartel had tortured rival gang members before hanging their mutilated bodies from a bridge. The bodies were found at the city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas on June 19. They were also left half-naked with their heads covered with bags.

Before that, the Sinaloa Cartel members also interrogated three soldiers from the Jalisco New Generations Cartel. They were also tortured and then tied to the bridge, Infobae reported.

The latest killings are believed to be part of “Operation MZ.” This was announced in the state in October with the letters referring to their leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. He has taken charge since the extradition and imprisonment of El Chapo in 2019.

In May, there was that case of a decapitated head left hanging from a bridge, something believed to be a warning to Mexico’s most powerful gang. It was found by officers at Tijuana’s Sanchez Taboada neighborhood at around 2:00 a.m. on May 22.

The head was left in a bag tied to a rope and had a message from the Arellano-Félix Cartel per Zeta Tijuana. The message included a warning that the same fate awaited people who were linked to the filthy rich people of the city. It appears the message was directed to Tijuana New Generation Cartel (CTNG) who has been in alliance with CJNG since 2016.

Cartel Land
We spoke to director Matthew Heineman, who immersed himself in the vigilante groups that fight drug cartels in Mexico and the U.S. and gave us a compelling look of the realities of the drug war terror with his documentary "Cartel Land." Cartel Land

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