Mexican authorities have launched an investigation following the gruesome discovery of six decapitated heads by a roadside in an area typically considered safe from such extreme violence. The remains, all male, were found on a road connecting the central Mexican states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Alongside the severed heads, investigators found a pamphlet attributing the brutal act to a feud between rival gangs. The State Attorney General’s Office (FGJE) has since initiated a probe into the murders, vowing to bring those responsible to justice.
Puebla and Tlaxcala are generally perceived as some of the safer states in Mexico, with the U.S. State Department assigning them a Level 2 travel advisory, the second-lowest warning. Official figures indicate that Tlaxcala accounts for a mere 0.5% of the 14,769 intentional homicides recorded in Mexico this year, while Puebla accounts for 3.4%.
Despite these relatively low figures, the State Department acknowledges that both states grapple with criminal gangs involved in drug trafficking, fuel smuggling, and human trafficking. Such extreme violence, including decapitation, is typically concentrated in the northern and western states along the Pacific coast.
In June, a similarly horrifying discovery was made in northwest Sinaloa, where 20 bodies, five of them headless, were found under a bridge. More recently, southern Mexico has seen a surge in gruesome crimes.
In March, the dismembered bodies of nine missing students were discovered by a highway on the border of Puebla and Oaxaca. A bag containing the students’ hands was found nearby, adding to the horror of the crime scene.
The recent surge in violence, particularly in areas previously considered safe, has raised concerns about the spread of gang-related violence in Mexico. The ongoing investigation into the recent decapitations is expected to shed more light on the situation.