In Mexico, 19 bodies found in truck as violence spreads in southern state
World
In Mexico, 19 bodies found in truck as violence spreads in southern state
(Reuters) - Mexican security officials found the bodies of 19 men piled into the back of a truck in southern Chiapas state, the local prosecutor's office said late on Monday, with the victims allegedly linked to a gunfight between a Guatemalan criminal gang and Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel.
Five of the men showed signs of gunshot wounds, and all were found in the back of a truck wearing dark clothing, tactical vests as well as firearm magazine clips, according to the prosecutor's statement.
The grim discovery was made near the town of La Concordia, north of Mexico's southern border with Guatemala.
A government security source in Chiapas told Reuters the victims were Guatemalan members of a criminal group wanting to gain territorial control in the area.
"They are Guatemalans, they are confronting several criminal cells (in Chiapas), in this case Sinaloa," the source said.
Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the incident an "unfortunate confrontation" during his regular morning press conference on Tuesday, adding that Mexicans and Guatemalans were among the victims.
In recent years, Chiapas has increasingly played host to gangland violence believed to be connected to criminal rackets including drugs and human smuggling.
"As a result of the increase in migrant trafficking in the area, the Sinaloa cartel, which previously controlled drug trafficking there, has become very strong," the security source said.
