11 bodies, including two minors, found dumped beside a highway in southern Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Police in a southern Mexico region rife with drug cartel violence found 11 bodies, including two of minors, dumped by a highway, prosecutors in the state of Guerrero said Thursday.
The bodies were found late Wednesday after police received a tip about an abandoned pickup truck on the main thoroughfare of the city of Chilpancingo, the state capital. The city of 300,000 has been the scene of gruesome drug gang violence as two rival cartels fight for control of the area.
Prosecutors did not specify the ages of the two dead minors. They said two of the 11 bodies were female. The highway where they were found is also the main route between Mexico City and the resort of Acapulco.
In the latest Mexican cartel violence, 19 bodies were found around a dump truck in Chiapas state, officials say, part of a gang war for drug and migrant trafficking routes.
In early October, the city’s mayor was killed and beheaded just a week after he was sworn in. Alejandro Arcos took office on Oct. 1 and his beheaded body was found in a pickup truck a week later, his head placed on the vehicle’s roof.
Two rival drug gangs, known as the Tlacos and the Ardillos, are fighting for control of the drug and extortion business in the city.
In 2023, gang violence in Chilpancingo became so brazen that one of the gangs staged a demonstration of hundreds of people, hijacked a government armored car, blocked a major highway and took police hostage to win the release of arrested suspects.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
