The bodies of six men were found hanging off a bridge in the city of Zacatecas in north-central Mexico on Thursday, an official said, in a region where some of the country’s biggest drug cartels are fighting over lucrative trafficking routes.
In Zacatecas, the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels are waging an all-out war that has escalated in recent months. Just a week ago, ten lifeless bodies were found in the municipality of Calera.
The scenes of this battle have also reached the municipality of Fresnillo, where at least 18 deaths were recorded in a cruel attack. Local newspapers counted up to 35. Executions of hanged people and in private homes have already totaled 66 deaths so far in August.
In the Valparaíso region, the situation is also critical. Last month, two policemen from San Luis Potosí were kidnapped and hung from a bridge. The executions, according to the authorities, were part of a declaration of power by the narco.
In absolute numbers, the state of Zacatecas is the most dangerous in the country. According to the Executive Secretariat of the National Security System, 536 intentional homicides have been committed from January to June.
The tragedy started six years ago in Zacatecas when the Army warned about the displacement of CJNG cells on the border between Jalisco and Zacatecas. Shortly after, in the city of Nochistlán (Zacatecas) a crystal laboratory allegedly from CJNG was found. It did not take long for clashes to arise with gunmen from the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, who then dominated the area.
48 months later, the organization of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho prevailed and displaced the criminal groups in the region. According to the experts, it established control through the cooptation of state and municipal police.
The vacuum of authorities was taken advantage of by the Sinaloa Cartel, which sought to stop the CJNG’s advance towards the limits with Durango (northwestern Mexico), where the Ismael Zambada García, el Mayo and the children of Joaquín el Chapo Guzmán maintain absolute control.
Zacatecas is the key to different entities: San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Durango, Nayarit and Colima.
