Mexican police have found at least dead six bodies hanging from three different bridges near tourist resort Los Cabos, with local media reporting of signs linked to drug gangs.
Authorities first discovered two bodies on Wednesday 20 December on a bridge in Las Veredas, near Los Cabos International Airport. They then found another two on a different bridge on the highway between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
Later on that day, two other bodies were then found on a third bridge near the airport, local prosecutors said in a statement.
Advert
The popular resort of Los Cabos is on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and incorporates the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and Jose del Cabo - the latter of which is the municipal seat. The economy of the area is highly driven by tourism, welcoming millions of foreign visitors every year.
Credit: PA
Little has been confirmed about the specifics of what happened to the victims, but local media outlets have reported that 'narcomantas' - signs linked with drugs gangs - have been recovered from the crime scenes. Drug gangs are also known to regularly hang the bodies of their murdered victims in public, as a means of intimidating rivals.
Advert
Carlos Mendoza Davis, the governor of the state of Baja California Sur, condemned the incident on Twitter, saying: "I condemn these acts and any expression of violence. Today more than ever in #BCS we should be united."
He has also said that authorities are currently investigating the incidents near Los Cabos.
Drug-related violence is set to make 2017 Mexico's deadliest year in modern history, according to the Guardian, with the rise of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel and disputes between other criminal groups fuelling the murder rates.
Advert
Homicides have more than doubled in Baja California Sur this year - with 409 people being killed through October, compared to 192 in all of 2016. Just last week, Los Cabos police chief Juan Manuel Mayorga was even shot dead, according to Reuters.
The area also made news earlier this year when authorities said they had found a mass grave in the nearby mountainous region of Valparaiso, where they discovered the bodies of 11 men and three women.
On Tuesday, authorities in the northern state of Chihuahua, which is further inland, also said 12 people had been killed in clashes between armed groups.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: World News, News, Mexico
