Horrific Scene Punctuates Ongoing Drug War

Forty-nine decapitated and mutilated bodies were found dumped on a Mexican highway to the U.S. border on Sunday. The grisly display is the latest horror story in the escalating war among Mexico’s drug cartels.

The bodies of 43 men and six women were found in the town of San Juan on the highway to the border city of Reynosa, forcing police and troops to close the road. The bodies were found with their heads, hands and feet cut off. Several bore tattoos associating them with drug traffickers.

Sadly, this is only the latest event of its kind. Previously this month, 23 bodies were found dumped or hanging in the city of Nuevo Laredo, and 18 were found along a highway south of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city.

In April, police found the mutilated bodies of 14 men in a minivan abandoned in downtown Nuevo Laredo, along with a message from an undisclosed drug gang.

Mexican drug cartels have been waging an increasingly bloody war to control smuggling routes, local drug markets and extortion rackets. The Trumpet has reported that these transport routes to American customers help the cartels rake in anywhere from $8 to $35 billion a year.

For a more detailed report on the causes and solution to this horrific drug war, read our cover article for this month’s Trumpet, “Beheading Mexico.”