A drug cartel in Mexico is forcing members into cannibalism after videos online have emerged which show gang members eating body parts of enemies.
Footage uploaded by The Jalisco New Generation Cartel shows one of its members eating a rival's heart straight from his chest in Zacatecas state last month, the Daily Mail reports.
The CJNG gang is believed to be led by Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes and the group has become one of the most dominant cartels in the area, operating in at least 35 states across Mexico and Puerto Rico.
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The graphic images show a gang member crouching besides the body of a rival from the Sinaloa cartel, formerly led by El Chapo.
The victim's arms are tied and his chest looks to be ripped open.
These extreme 'intimidation techniques' are said to being used to scare rival gangs and have been part of the Jalisco initiation since 2015.
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Dr Robert Bunker, a security analyst and expert on Mexican cartels, told the Daily Beast: "Given its warning to other Mayo Zambada gunmen, the video has clearly been produced for PSYOPS [psychological operations aiming to influence their audience's emotions and objective reasoning] purposes by the CJNG unit involved in the incident who then uploaded it to social media."
Robert Almonte, a Texas-based security consultant and expert on Mexican cartels, told the New York Post earlier this month: "Their philosophy is basically if you are not with us, you are against us.
"That includes the police that refuse to be on their payroll, local communities and their rivals."
CJNG recruits are taught combat techniques and how to operate weapons.
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It is also believed that eating human flesh is part of the group's training scheme.
They are reportedly taught torture techniques such as severing fingers and toes, which happens to be the cartel's favourite interrogation tool.
A former CJNG member told the Daily Beast: "They are given a choice of one of those pieces to eat in front of the boss.
"You have to do it without reacting or vomiting or you are beaten.
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"If you didn’t want to [eat human flesh] they wouldn’t let you leave, they had you there."
Those who break the rules are reportedly brutally murdered in front of other members.
The DEA's former chief of international operations Mike Vigil told the Daily Beast: "If terror school recruits show fear or commit errors or infractions they instantly become the victims of the other trainees who dismember and decapitate them [and] their flesh is then eaten."
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The horrific initiations are said to be part of the groups' twisted philosophy, which they believe instils a sense of loyalty to the cartel.
Featured Image Credit: UncreditedTopics: Crime, World News