Police make grisly find of 18 bodies stuffed in vans near Mexican tourist lake that were dismembered and beheaded

PUBLISHED: 23:09 EST, 9 May 2012 | UPDATED: 23:11 EST, 9 May 2012

Eighteen dismembered and beheaded bodies have been found inside two vans in an area frequented by tourists near the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico, authorities said Wednesday.

Police discovered 15 of the severed human heads a few miles from Lake Chapala just before Jalisco state Prosecutor Tomas Coronado said three more had been found along with the other body parts.

'The bodies are dismembered,' Mr Coronado said in an interview transcript provided by his office.

Killings: Forensic technicians handle bags containing the remains of 18 people found in two abandoned cars in Guadalajara, Mexico Wednesday

He said authorities received a phone call alerting them to the presence of two minivans on a dirt access road near Lake Chapala, which is popular with tourists and American retirees.

The vehicles were towed to government offices to unload the bodies.

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The area has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Jalisco New Generation gang, allied with the Sinaloa cartel, and the Zetas drug cartel.

Mexican drug cartels frequently dismember the bodies of their victims or leave them stuffed into vehicles.

Gangs: The bodies appeared to be the latest atrocity by the Zetas gang against the Jalisco New Generation gang and allied Sinaloa cartel

The gangs also frequently leave hand-written messages alongside their victims' bodies, and Mr Coronado said that such messages were found in the vans.

'They are clearly messages between rival groups that are in conflict,' Mr Coronado said.

Mr Coronado also said the killings may have been linked to the abduction of 12 people who later escaped in the same area on Tuesday. A woman who was allegedly watching the captives was detained. She told investigators that the kidnappings were 'a repercussion of what happened in Tamaulipas.'

Retaliation: Protesters gathered showing pictures of those missing and ultimately believed in connection or retaliation to an abduction Tuesday that captured 12

That was an apparent reference to the slayings of 23 people whose bodies were found Friday in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, in northern Tamaulipas state. The bodies were found hanging from a bridge or decapitated and dumped near city hall Friday in Nuevo Laredo, where drug cartels are fighting an escalating turf war.

Messages were found in Nuevo Laredo threatening the Gulf cartel, which has joined Sinaloa to battle the Zetas. The killings could be part of a wide-ranging, tit-for-tat battle between Sinaloa and the Zetas, in which both sides have been known to massacre dozens of people accused of supporting the rival gang.

Comments (9)

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Scary place, am sure lot innocent people get caught up in this evil!

- karm68 , Liverpool, 11/5/2012 09:53

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Absolutely no regard for human life what so ever What is going on with the human race? Barbaric I think this world is run by the devil..

- little dog , U.K, 10/5/2012 22:45

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They are all in the drug trade....they are all killing our children...I don't care if they all kill each other...Trash...- Old Soldier, And His Dog, 10/5/2012 No, they are not all in the drug trade. That is a stupid blanket statement that condemns millions of hard working Mexican citizens. The innocent suffer under the drug lords, police and politicians that take bribes from the drug cartels.

- Jean , USA, 10/5/2012 19:39

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human sacrifice is part of their ancient culture.

- mr zen , the cave, 10/5/2012 16:19

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Mexico is a place I have no intention of ever visiting, been many times to the US but Mexico is not and never will be on my travel list. If this is the standards they have to live with, and from what has been in the news for the past few years, has put me off for life.

- Old Jake, , North Yorks, UK., 10/5/2012 15:54

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This is all doing wonders for Mexican tourism....

- as it is , UK, 10/5/2012 13:08

Click to rate Rating 10

They are all in the drug trade....they are all killing our children...I don't care if they all kill each other...Trash...

- Old Soldier , And His Dog, 10/5/2012 12:43

Click to rate Rating 4

I'd rather drug cartels kill each other than everyone else.

- Glitcher , London, UK, 10/5/2012 11:05

Click to rate Rating 13

Glad I'm not Mexican that's all I'm saying