Mexican police find 19 bodies in dump truck in drug cartel-dominated area

Authorities said they found 19 bodies in and around a garbage truck in an area of ​​southern Mexico near the Guatemala border where drug cartels operate.

According to the Federal Public Security Department, the men’s bodies were found in a truck abandoned on a country road near the town of La Concordia, in the southern state of Chiapas.

The bodies of 14 men were piled in the bed of the dump truck, two others were found in the cab, two were just outside the truck and another body was found about 100 yards away.

According to the ministry, the victims were shot dead. Among them were at least six men who were carrying Guatemalan identity papers.

The killings were said to appear to be linked to the bloody battles between the Sinaloa drug cartel and a rival gang known as the Mexico-Guatemala Cartel. The latter gang may have ties to Sinaloa’s archrival, the Jalisco Cartel.

As human smuggling and drug trafficking have become increasingly lucrative in the area, cartels have been fighting for control of smuggling routes in the past year.

The increase in violence in the state of Chiapas has forced thousands of people to flee.

In May, a mayoral candidate and five other people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a campaign rally in La Concordia, about 125 km from the Guatemalan border.

A young girl was among six people killed in the shooting, along with mayoral candidate Lucero López Maza. Two others were wounded and the motive for the attack remains unclear.

The shooting came just days after 11 people were killed in mass shootings in a town in the Chicomuselo municipality, Chiapas, about 135 kilometers (84 miles) from La Concordia.