The remains of nine individuals suspected to be Los Zacapoaxtlas members who disappeared in southern Mexico last month have been discovered in a gruesome crime scene, with their bodies dismembered and their severed hands placed in a bag.

Daily Mail reports that found the victims inside an abandoned vehicle in San Jose Miahuatlan, near the border of Puebla and Oaxaca—approximately 175 miles from Mexico City. Five bodies lay beneath a blood-soaked tarp while the remaining four were crammed into the car’s trunk. Investigators believe this brutal act is linked to cartel violence.

Initial reports suggested the victims were students from Tlaxcala who had traveled to Oaxaca for vacation. However, later findings indicated they were associated with the Los Zacapoaxtlas criminal group. While cartel-related violence plagues much of Mexico, Oaxaca remains a popular tourist destination known for its food and beaches.

Authorities located the victims’ car—a dark grey Volkswagen Vento—along the Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway on March 2, three days after they were reported missing. Eight victims have been identified: Angie Lizeth, 29; Brend Mariel, 19; Jacqueline Ailet, 23; Noemi Yamileth, 28; Lesly Noya Trejo, 21; Raul Emmanuel, 28; Ruben Antonio; and Rolando Armando. The ninth victim remains unidentified.

The Puebla State Attorney General’s Office is working with law enforcement in Tlaxcala and Oaxaca to apprehend those responsible. Surveillance footage from February 24 shows the vehicle traveling near Atlixco, about 90 miles from where the bodies were found.

Mexican cartels frequently employ extreme violence to instill fear, often leaving bodies mutilated in public places. In 2023 alone, Mexico recorded over 30,000 murders, many tied to drug-related conflicts. Authorities continue their investigations, but cartel violence, like Los Zacapoaxtlas’s, remains a persistent and escalating crisis in the country.

#Clique, what are your thoughts?