Bodies of six men are hung from bridge in Mexico region where 'lucrative drug route' has caused intense fighting between cartels

Bodies of six men are hung from bridge in Mexico region where 'lucrative drug route' has caused intense fighting between cartels

The bodies of four men were found hanging from a bridge and two others below the overpass by authorities in north-central Mexico.  

The half-naked bodies were found around 6am Thursday after several armed men stopped in the middle of the bridged and removed the individuals off several vehicles, Mexican newspaper La Jornada reported.

The alleged hitmen hung them from the bridge's concrete barrier before speeding off toward the city of Calera.

Two of the bodies later became untied and plummeted to a sidewalk.

The half-naked bodies were found around 6am Thursday after several armed men stopped in the middle of the bridged and removed the individuals off several vehicles

Approximately 45 minutes later, five additional bodies were found covered in sheets on a road in the municipality of Fresnillo, newspaper El Universal reported. 

The bodies of some of the victims showed signs that they had run over on purpose by the perpetrators.

No arrests had been reported in both incidents. It's unknown if the two incidents were related. 

During July, 11 bodies were found hanged under bridges in Zacatecas state, some accompanied by threatening messages. Some of the bodies were dumped in the Fresnillo and Valparaiso municipalities, which have also seen crime rates spike.

Police secure an area after bodies of men were found hung up on a local overpass bridge Thursday in the city of Zacatecas in north-central Mexico. At least 11 bodies were found hanged under bridges in Zacatecas state, some accompanied by threatening messages

Some 536 people were killed in Zacatecas state in the first six months of the year to June, a 57 percent rise on the same period last year, according to official figures.  

The state of Zacatecas has witnessed intense fighting between two of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation.

For both cartels, the region represents lucrative routes to traffic large quantities of narcotics to the rest of the country, the United States and the rest of the world.

According to a Drug Enforcement Administration 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment report, the two cartels were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in flooding the United States with fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana.