Mexico - Narco State's murder rate still rising

 

Disappearances surge in Mexico during first half of year

By Macarena Hermosilla

   

Members of the Guerreros buscadores collective work on the excavation of a clandestine grave in the area of Las Agujas in Zapopan, Mexico, on July 8. Students demonstrated to demand that the Jalisco state government speed investigations to reveal the identity of the bodies found in a grave in the municipality, fearing some are classmates. Photo by Francisco Guasco/EPA

July 16 (UPI) -- Mexico recorded 7,399 missing persons cases in the first half of 2025, marking a nearly 18% increase from the same period last year, according to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons.

Between January and June, monthly reports consistently exceeded 1,000 cases, peaking in March at 1,279 and May at 1,377. The sustained trend reflects a steady escalation of the crisis nationwide.

Mexico City recorded the highest number of disappearances during that period, with 1,099 cases -- an 88% increase from the same period in 2024.

It was followed by the State of Mexico, with 1,063 cases, and Sinaloa, with 519. Michoacán, Baja California, Sonora, Jalisco, Guanajuato and Nuevo León -- states marked by high levels of violence and the presence of organized crime -- each reported between 325 and 467 cases.

Related

• Biggest challenge for Mexico's new president: Stopping the violence
• Mexico's new president criticized for militarizing police
• Opium legalization favored by Mexico's defense chief

Disappearances in Mexico are part of a complex crisis that has developed over the past two decades. The issue is driven by a combination of factors, from organized criminal activity to systemic impunity, according to government reports, academic studies and human rights organizations.

According to the National Search Commission and international organizations, more than 98% of cases remain unresolved in court.

The systemic impunity has created an environment in which perpetrators know their actions carry no legal consequences, and families are forced to take on investigative roles. Search collectives have become the backbone of the fight against disappearances in Mexico, locating remains and demanding justice.

One of the most prominent search collectives is Madres Buscadoras de Sonora (Searching Mothers of Sonora), which has become a national and international symbol.

Just last weekend, the group discovered a suspected training camp believed to have been used by organized crime to train or hold new recruits hostage. Human remains and about 200 articles of clothing were found at the site, according to Univision.

Since its founding in May 2019, Madres Buscadoras de Sonora has located more than 1,200 sets of human remains or bodies in clandestine graves and has pressed state and federal authorities to respond to reports of new burial sites.

Young people ages 15 to 29 make up the majority of those who disappear in Mexico,- followed increasingly by girls, teenagers and migrants, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

In Jalisco, the state with the highest number of disappearances, authorities recorded a 63.6% increase in missing teenagers and a 72% rise in children ages 10 to 14 over the past two years, according to the University of Guadalajara.

Routes used for drug trafficking, human trafficking and contraband often overlap with major hotspots for disappearances in states such as Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Guanajuato and Guerrero, where criminal groups fight for territorial control.

In states like Zacatecas and Michoacán, authorities and search collectives have documented mass disappearances tied to violent clashes between criminal organizations.

In 2022, the total number of cases in the registry surpassed 100,000. The number increased by 7.3% in 2023 and 6.3% in 2024, and is projected to rise by 12% in 2025, according to a report by Red Lupa. Roughly 90% of all recorded disappearances in Mexico have occurred between 2000 and May 16.

Is Mexico utterly hopeless? Can they recover, like El Salvador? But there aren't enough jails in the world to hold all the criminals in Mexico.

Mexico > Police protection cannot save an honest man from murder in Narco State Mexico

 

Gunmen kill Mexican crime reporter

despite his police protection

By Allen Cone

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Gunmen in Mexico shot and killed a crime reporter in the central state of Guanajuato on Sunday.

Alejandro Martínez Noguez died in Celaya after suffering the attack while in his car. He survived a similar attack on his life in 2022, the BBC reported.

At the time of his slaying, he was under police protection by two officers who ineffectively returned fire at the assailants.

Martinez went by the nickname "El Hijo del Llanero Solitito," which is "The Son of the Lone Ranger" in English.

He died in a hospital from his bullet wounds.

The journalist, who was in his 50s, ran a popular news outlet on Facebook, which has about 344,000 followers.

Corruption is Everywhere > As Ecuador continues to descend into a Narco State - One city's story

 

Danger at every corner: How Ecuadoran city of Guayaquil became unliveable

Issued on: 03/05/2024 - 15:07

By:Juan OROZCO|Pascale MARIANI

1 min

The Latin American nation of Ecuador has been experiencing an unprecedented security crisis for several months. In the port city of Guayaquil, now under the control of drug gangs, residents are living in fear.

In Ecuador's economic capital Guayaquil, everyday life was turned upside down in early 2024. On January 9, images of a group of armed youths taking journalists hostage during a live TV broadcast went viral. The same day, several parts of the city were attacked. Guayaquil’s gangs declared war on the institutions and state of Ecuador. The government of President Daniel Noboa, who was elected in 2023, immediately declared a situation of "internal armed conflict" and imposed a state of emergency. This gave the army special powers to intervene, particularly in prisons, which had become the headquarters of the gangs.

Since then, desperate families have had no news of detainees. In Guayaquil, the army has taken control of the prisons and banned visits, as it has in most detention centres. Worrying news is reaching relatives on the outskirts of prisons. Detainees are reportedly beaten and left without medical care.

Cocaine trafficking leads to surge in organised crime and violence

In the space of just a few years, organised crime has become all-powerful in Guayaquil. Wedged between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two main producers of cocaine, Ecuador is ideally located for exporting the drug. Guayaquil, the country's main port, has seen a rise in crime over the years. Numerous gangs share the spoils of organised crime, each specialising in a particular area: some gangs are contract killers, others are experts in extortion, while others carry out kidnappings.

For locals, Guayaquil has become unliveable. Kidnappings, extortions and crimes of all kinds can happen at any street corner. More and more people now live in gated communities. Others, if they can, choose to leave the country.

Mexico - Narco State > The most feared criminal organization in the world; 14 y/o arrested for killing 8, injuring 7 more

..

45 bags of human remains found during search

for missing Mexican workers

By Patrick Hilsman

JUNE 2, 2023 / 1:52 PM

Mexican authorities discovered 45 bags containing human remains in a ravine near Guadalajara in

Jalisco state. The bodies were discovered during a search for seven missing call center employees.

Photo courtesy of Mexican Prosecutor's Office

June 2 (UPI) -- Mexican investigators discovered 45 bags containing human remains in a ravine near Guadalajara in Jalisco state.

The bodies were discovered in the Mirador del Bosque ravine as police searched for seven call-center employees who went missing in Zapopan last month.

"Personnel from the different areas of the prosecutor's office carry out various operations to locate and search for the young people reported missing," the prosecutor's office said in a press statement Friday. "The investigative police managed to obtain information on the possible location of evidence in an area of difficult access."

The prosecutor's office for Jalisco state said authorities had received a tip about the missing employees, which lead them to the location of the body parts, none of which have been identified as belonging to the missing seven so far.

The prosecutor's office said the search for the missing seven employees is ongoing as teams work to determine how many body parts were left in the ravine and who they belonged to.

"In coordination with elements of the Zapopan Civil Protection and Fire Department, rescue work has been carried out since yesterday afternoon to extract the bags with the evidence," officials said.

Kidnappings in Jalisco are common, as cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation cartel, frequently engage in inter-cartel violence and attacks on civilians.

U.S. officials have called the JNGC "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, heavily-armed, dangerous, and feared criminal organization in the world."

About 100,000 people have gone missing in Mexico since 1964, with an overwhelming majority of the disappearances happening after 2007.

Mexican police arrest 14-year-old 'El Chapito' for killing eight

By Darryl Coote

 

Nine people were arrested last weekend, including a 14-year-old boy on accusations of killing eight people in January. 

March 17 (UPI) -- Mexican authorities have arrested a 14-year-old boy nicknamed "El Chapito" after the infamous Mexican drug lord on accusations of being involved in the shooting deaths of eight people.

The nation's Public Safety Department announced the arrest Thursday in a statement.

Authorities said the unidentified boy was one of two people who opened fire on a family celebrating a birthday in the Fundidores neighborhood of Chimalhuacan, a city just northeast of Mexico City, killing eight people and injuring seven others, including a 3-year-old child.

Police said the boy was among nine people arrested during a 12-hour operation between late March 10 and early Saturday in Chimalhuacan and nearby Nezahualcoyotl city.

One other person was charged in connection to the shooting while the rest were charged with drug-related crimes, the department said.

While the adults were taken to the Neza-Bordo Penitentiary and Social Reintegration Center, the teenager was placed at the disposal of a specialized control judge in the Comprehensive Criminal Justice System for Adolescents, it said.

"El Chapo," whose real name is Joaquin Guzman, resides in a Colorado prison where he is serving a life sentence after being convicted of numerous chargers in connection to his position as the leader of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel.

It is not wholly uncommon for teenagers to commit such violent crimes in the country. In the early 2010s, a 14-year-old boy nicknamed "El Ponchis" was arrested and charged with being a hitman for a Mexican drug cartel.

What a great country, eh? No wonder everyone wants to leave.

Corruption is Everywhere - Especially in the Narco State of Mexico, and It Goes Right to the Top

..

Mexican authorities discover 113 bodies in Jalisco mass grave

By Daniel Uria

At least 113 bodies were found in a mass grave in Mexico's Jalisco state following a nearly two-month long excavation.

Photo by Francisco Guasco/EPA-EFE

Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Mexican authorities discovered at least 113 bodies in a mass grave in Jalisco state, state attorney Gerardo Octavio Solis said.

During a news conference Sunday, Solis said 30 of the bodies had been identified, including 28 men and two women.

The grave was located in the El Salto municipality, southeast of the state capital Guadalajara. 

Authorities also said an additional 25 bodies have been found at another mass grave at Ixlahuacan de los Membrillo, nearly 19 miles south of El Salto.

A spokesman for the state's attorney's office told CNN they began excavating the grave on Oct. 1.

Jalisco is the base of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration deemed one of Mexico's "most powerful and fastest growing" drug cartels.

Jalisco authorities have exhumed 897 bodies from mass graves from 2006 to Sept. 30, 2020.

Mexico arrests cartel mastermind of Mormon massacre

which killed nine

A total of 17 suspects have been arrested in connection with the slaughter in Nov. 2019

The Associated Press 

Posted: Nov 25, 2020 6:31 PM ET

Nine members of the LeBaron family were murdered in the Sonora mountains in Mexico last year and

the alleged mastermind was arrested on Wednesday. (Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images)

Mexico's army and federal prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested the purported mastermind of the killings a year ago of three women and six children from a well-known Mexican-American family, the LeBarons, on a rural road in the northern state of Sonora.

The suspect was identified only by his first name, "Roberto," in line with Mexican law against incrimination.

Another source IDs the massacre suspect as Roberto González, the plaza boss of La Línea in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua

The agencies said the suspect was arrested Monday along with two other men near the town of Nuevo Casas Grandes in the northern border state of Chihuahua. They had two rifles, three pistols and marijuana in their vehicle, officials said.

The three men were described as members of a drug cartel, but the agencies did not say which one. However, in the past, officials have attributed the killings to the Juarez cartel or its offshoot La Linea gang.

A total of 17 suspects have now been arrested in connection with the November 2019 ambush killings.

Members of local Mormon communities and relatives of the extended Le Baron family attended the funeral in Le Baron, Mexico last year. (Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau wrote in his Twitter account that the arrests represented "excellent cooperation between the authorities of both countries," though he did not say what role the United States played.

"There will be justice!" Landau wrote.

The mostly bilingual American-Mexicans have lived in northern Mexico for decades and consider themselves Mormons, though they are not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

More corruption accusations fly as ex-minister tries to make a deal

Rosario Robles accuses ex-finance minister of masterminding huge fraud scheme

Published on Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Mexico News Daily

The previous federal government left office almost two years ago but some of the many corruption scandals that plagued it have life in them yet and could result in the imprisonment of former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s right-hand man.

Media attention this week has focused on the so-called “Master Fraud” embezzlement scheme in which government departments allegedly diverted billions of pesos to shell companies via public universities.

The highest-profile former official who has been arrested in connection with the scheme is Rosario Robles, who served as both minister of social development and minister of agrarian development in Peña Nieto’s 2012-2018 government.

Videgaray and Robles in better days

 

A lawyer for Robles, who remains in custody in a Mexico City prison, claimed this week that former finance and foreign affairs minister Luis Videgaray was in charge of the fraud scheme and used it to divert public funds to political campaigns of the then-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Sergio Arturo Ramírez said his client will cooperate with the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and provide details about Videgaray’s involvement.

His claims were met with a firm denial from the former finance minister, who also faces accusations of wrongdoing related to a corruption scheme involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

Good grief! Who isn't involved in corruption schemes with Odebrecht?

Peru's Ex-President Toledo Denies Taking $20M in Bribes

Peru's President Kuczynski Refuses to Resign over Corruption Allegations

Ecuador's Vice President to be Tried on Bribery Charges

Robles, who was jailed over a year ago, took to Twitter on Tuesday (going online is apparently not a problem in the Santa Martha prison) to announce that she had agreed to become a “collaborating witness” in the “Master Fraud” case.

“For now it’s the only thing I can say. … I’ve instructed my lawyers to abide by the legal process. What I must say is that I will speak the truth,” she wrote.

Is she suicidal? Will she live long enough to tell the truth?

Robles added that she had asked her lawyers to seek an agreement with the authorities, apparently indicating that she is prepared to talk in exchange for acquittal or a reduction in any jail sentence she might receive.

“There will surely be those who deny the facts but the proof will speak [for itself],” she wrote.

Robles’ decision to cooperate with authorities came after it was revealed that she would face organized crime and money laundering charges in addition to being accused of improper exercise of public office.

Perhaps complicating her attempt to get out of jail are claims made by Emilio Zebadúa Gonzále, who was a high-ranking bureaucrat in the Ministry of Social Development (Sedesol) when it was led by Robles.

According to the newspaper El Universal, Zebadúa – who is also accused of involvement in the “Master Fraud” – told the FGR that Robles met with colleagues every week to plot the diversion of public funds via the embezzlement scheme.

Emilio Zebadúa claims that weekly meetings were held to plot the diversion of public funds.

Zebadúa also told the FGR that Robles and former Sedesol chief Ramón Sosamontes personally received cash that shell companies had received from public universities that were awarded government contracts.

The former official said that Sedesol and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Urban Planning, which Robles headed up in the second half of the previous government’s term, diverted more than 1.2 billion pesos.

Zebadúa said Robles told him that Videgaray had explained to her that Sedesol needed to divert resources to pay for debts incurred and arrangements made during Peña Nieto’s 2012 presidential campaign. Videgaray was the ex-president’s campaign manager.

Former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, who also worked on Peña Nieto’s campaign, has accused the former finance minister of striking corrupt agreements with Odebrecht in order to obtain millions of dollars in funding for the 2012 presidential bid.

Videgaray rejected Lozoya’s accusations against him in August, and took to Twitter again on Tuesday to respond to the claims made by Robles’ lawyer.

“I deeply regret that Rosario Robles is baselessly choosing to accuse me to try to get out of her legal situation,” he said in a statement posted to his Twitter account.

Videgaray said that he understands the “extraordinarily difficult” situation Robles is in but asserted that “desperation cannot be justification for lying and incriminating innocent people. That mustn’t be the path to obtain her freedom,” he wrote.

“Rosario Robles can say many things but what she won’t be able to do is prove lies. I didn’t have any participation, direct or indirect, in the so-called Master Fraud,” Videgaray said.

“As a public servant I always acted within the legal framework and the only evidence that has emerged against me with respect to the alleged diversion of public resources are statements of people [Robles and Lozoya] who want to evade responsibility,” he wrote.

“I was never the boss of Rosario Robles. As cabinet colleagues we were equals – there was never a relationship of subordination between us. Neither her nor her co-workers received instructions from me.”

Despite his denials, government officials who spoke with the newspaper Milenio say the FGR already has sufficient evidence against Videgaray for him to go to jail. Information to be provided by Robles is only expected to strengthen the Attorney General’s Office’s case.

President López Obrador said earlier this month that the FGR had sought an arrest warrant for Videgaray in connection with the Odebrecht case but was blocked by a judge. It is currently preparing a new warrant request for the former cabinet minister, who – according to the statement he issued Tuesday – remains in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In a document that accompanied its first request for an arrest warrant for Videgaray, the FGR accused Peña Nieto of leading and personally benefiting from a criminal scheme within his government that paid bribes to lawmakers and committed treason.

However, it is not currently seeking to arrest the former president. There is a possibility that the FGR could seek to do so if a majority of citizens vote in favor of putting past presidents on trial for alleged wrongdoings at a referendum planned for next year.

Narco-submarine abandoned off Oaxaca coast

Published on Monday, November 23, 2020

Mexico News Daily

An anonymous tip led navy personnel to an abandoned makeshift submarine on the Oaxaca coast that is believed to have belonged to drug traffickers operating between South America and Mexico.

It is not known which criminal organization it belonged to and neither people nor drugs were found on the vessel, which had appeared near the town of Barra de la Cruz, located about 30 kilometers east of Huatulco.

Drug traffickers frequently use various marine routes to transport a myriad of drugs from Central and South America to destinations all over Mexico within five to 15 days. Authorities believe that in this case, traffickers were intending to transport cocaine or amphetamines on the submersible vessel.

Intending? Looks to me like they did.

It first became evident that cartels were building DIY submarines to transport drugs by sea in 2005. Authorities believe the submarines are built in Columbia, Ecuador or Guyana.

In December 2019, a submarine carrying over a tonne of cocaine bound for Mexico was caught off the coast of Peru with a Columbian, Ecuadorian, and a Mexican aboard. At the time, authorities said the vessel had been loaded in Ecuador near the border with Peru and that it was the first such drug-trafficking submarine ever caught in Peru.

According to the country’s anti-drug agency, the majority of Peru’s cocaine is exported via maritime routes.

Barra de la Cruz, MX

Mexican Mayor Killed in Broad Daylight Less Than 2 Hours After Taking Office

Corruption is Everywhere - and I mean Everywhere in drug cartel run Mexico

FILE PHOTO ©  Reuters / Carlos Jasso

The newly-sworn-in mayor of Tlaxiaco, a town in Oaxaca state, was on his first assignment when he and four other people were attacked by gunmen. The mayor died in the hospital. A perpetrator has been arrested.

Alejandro Aparicio served in his new capacity as the president of Tlaxiaco municipality for a mere hour and a half before he was assaulted with a deadly weapon while heading to his first inspection as the head of the local government.

The state general prosecutor's office reported that the attack took place around noon as the mayor, along with his advisers and staff, was walking down the street after the swearing-in ceremony.

It was reported that Aparicio suffered a wound to his chest and was rushed to the local hospital. However, the doctors were unable to save his life and he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Aside from Aparicio, four officials were injured, including one very seriously.

Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat condemned the attack on the mayor, demanding "a thorough investigation" by the attorney general. Murat confirmed that one of the alleged perpetrators had been taken into custody.

There have been conflicting reports as to the number of assailants. Initial reports suggested that two men opened fire on the mayor and members of his entourage. There have also been reports that one of the attackers was apprehended by locals who almost lynched him to avenge the death of Aparicio.

The slain mayor represented the National Regeneration Movement of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (MORENA), who himself was sworn in just a month ago.

MORENA's President and General Secretary Yeidckol Polevnsky called the mayor's murder a "cowardly attack against governments elected by the people."

While Aparicio's killing sent shockwaves across the Mexican political establishment, prompting an outpouring of condolences, it's not the first time the life of a newly-elected official has been taken shortly after their inauguration.

Maria Asuncion Torres Cruz, an alderwoman-elect in the central municipality of Mazatepec, was shot dead on Sunday hours before she was to take office. Cruz was also a member of Obrador's MORENA party. The woman was killed outside her home, with authorities saying that it is unclear whether her murder was politically-motivated.

Seriously? Come on!

Exactly three years ago, Gisela Mota, mayor of the city of Temixco, was killed just a day after taking office by a group of hitmen linked to organized crime.

There has been a surge in political violence in Mexico, which has a long history of politically-motivated crimes. According to an Indicator of Political Violence in Mexico provided by Etellekt consultancy, from September 2017 to August 2018, 850 politicians were attacked and 175 killed across the country.

The drug cartels are in complete control in Mexico and there is nothing anyone can do about it. 

Corruption is Everywhere - S. Korean Politics; Italian and Mexican Mafias

South Korean prosecutors raid governor's home, office in defamation case

By Wooyoung Lee

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung speaks to reporters after arriving at a regional bureau of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Nov. 24, 2018. Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, UPI -- South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday raided the home and office of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in an investigation involving his wife.

Prosecutors searched for cellphones used by Lee's wife Kim Hye-kyung since 2013 that would serve as key evidence to the probe, Yonhap News reported.

Kim has been accused of spreading false information, and defamation and slander against political rivals of her husband on Twitter and other social media. Lee, the former mayor of Seongnam City, is a key political figure in liberal political circles in South Korea.

South Korean police found Kim to be the owner of the Twitter account "For the Justice" that has been active since 2013. The police handed over the case to the prosecution last week with a recommendation to indict her for slander and libel.

Some defamatory comments have been made against former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and victims of the Sewol ferry sinking incident in Tweets.

The Twitter account became known when Lee's fellow lawmaker Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who also announced a run for a Gyeonggi governor race, reported them to the national election committee for libel and slander, including some against him.

Jeon withdrew his complaint last month, but some 3,000 citizens and a lawyer made another official complaint to the police for an investigation.

Lee said he will cooperate with prosecutors' investigation.

"This is part of routine investigation activities by prosecutors," he said to reporter Tuesday. "I hope this reveals the truth behind this case so that my wife can be free from the allegations."

Camorra boss, a top Italian fugitive, arrested in Naples

By Renzo Pipoli

Italian police captured on Tuesday Antonio Orlando, wanted for 15 years over alleged organized crime associations and believed by police to be the leader of a clan of the Camorra organized crime group. The image from March 2011 shows policemen as they stand guard outside the home of another alleged Camorra boss. File Photo by EPA/Ciro Fusco

UPI -- Italian police on Tuesday captured Antonio Orlando, described as one of the most dangerous fugitives in Italy as he evaded arrest since 2003 for association with organized crime.

Police arrested Orlando, also known as Mazzolino, in an apartment in Naples, about 140 miles southeast of Rome. He was on a list of the 100 most dangerous criminals in Italy, Naples newspaper Il Mattino reported Tuesday.

He is known as the "undisputed boss" of organized crime group Marano, a clan of the larger Camorra organization that is named after the part of the city where it originated, and lived in an apartment "filled with every comfort" including a sauna and solar-powered shower, according to the report. He did not resist arrest.

Just before his capture, Orlando managed to partially burn some pieces of paper, the newspaper added. He had the equivalent of about $6,700 in euros, it reported.

Corriere della Sera TV reported that among the papers he burned were identification documents such as an identity card, a health card and a tax document, under a different name. Orlando was in his 60s, it added.

Gaspare Giardelli, who led the police unit that captured Orlando, said "he had very much power. The very fact that he tried to burn papers proves he was still operative and dominated in the Marano area."

Other reports indicated at least 80 policemen and one helicopter were used in the operation.

Police official Ubaldo del Monaco told Corriere della Sera TV he was captured after a long and complex investigation by police and the city top prosecutor.

The Camorra is a loosely organized crime group that is based in Naples and the region of Campania in southern Italy. Police have said in the past that different clans have controls over different areas as the group lacks a single vertical structure.

Mexican criminals leave human remains, messages near jails

By Renzo Pipoli

Mexican police said coolers with human remains were left near three jails, as grisly messages from organized crime groups. File Photo by EPA-EFE/Francisca Meza

UPI -- In what are believed to be grisly messages from Mexican organized crime groups, coolers containing human remains have turned up near three jails in the state of Nuevo Leon.

The findings include two coolers within 330 feet of the Cadereyta prison, and another near the Cereso de Apodaca correctional facility. A similar finding was made near the Topo Chico jail, Excelsior reported.

Mexican officials haven't divulged details of the contents, other than to say they were human remains. Accompanying messages were written on white cardboard attached to the coolers.

The finds caused "intense" mobilization by army, police and government officials near the jails, the newspaper reported. It's not known whether the remains belong to one or several people.

Earlier this month, Nuevo Leon public safety chief Aldo Fasci warned of attacks from organized crime targeting police, and authorized the use of deadly force if their lives or citizens' lives are at risk, El Universal reported.

Fasci's warning came after criminals kidnapped two police officers, a man and a woman, from their home. The kidnappers tied them up and asked about police activities. Officials said they also stole equipment and other belongings.

Excelsior reported police in Guerrero state on Wednesday found the dismembered remains of a former state police official, identified as Domingo Tlatempa, in black bags on a street in Chilpacingo. He was identified by relatives, the report said. Tlatempa had been Guerrero's police coordinator but was recently removed from the post after an attack killed three police officers and a Red Cross worker.

More than 25,000 people were killed in Mexico over the first nine months of this year, Animal Politico reported last month -- an 18 percent rise from 2017, which is on record as Mexico's most violent year of the last two decades.