The bodies of 20 men, some decapitated and hanging from a bridge, were discovered on a highway in Mexico\u2019s violence-stricken Sinaloa state, according to local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discovery was made Sunday night near a seminary outside the state capital of Culiac\u00e1n. Officials said at least four decapitated bodies were found hanging from a bridge, with five severed heads placed nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Ford Transit van was located near the scene containing 16 additional bodies, including one that was decapitated, the Sinaloa State Prosecutor\u2019s Office said in a statement. All of the victims were men and appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A message known as a \u201cnarco-banner\u201d was found in the van, containing threats directed at the sons of Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n, the imprisoned former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Culiac\u00e1n is considered the epicenter of cartel violence in Mexico, with recent conflict driven by a violent internal feud within the Sinaloa Cartel following the July 2024 capture of longtime cartel figure Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada near El Paso, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zambada was allegedly lured into a trap by Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, one of the sons of Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n, who was also taken into custody when their plane landed at an airport where U.S. authorities were waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident is believed to have triggered a bloody internal war between factions loyal to Zambada\u2019s family and those supporting the Guzm\u00e1n brothers. The ongoing conflict has resulted in more than 2,000 deaths and hundreds of disappearances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bodies of 20 men, some decapitated and hanging from a bridge, were discovered on a highway in Mexico\u2019s violence-stricken Sinaloa state, according to local authorities. The discovery was made Sunday night near a seminary outside the state capital of Culiac\u00e1n. Officials said at least four decapitated bodies were found hanging from a bridge, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":56329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2992,15,3014,1524,483,2216,2752],"class_list":["post-56328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-culiacan-mexico","tag-featured","tag-mexican-cartels","tag-mexican-drug-war","tag-mexico","tag-sinaloa-mexico","tag-sinaloa-cartel"],"yoast_head":"\n