20 Execution Victims Litter the Streets of Ciudad Madero

First set of 3 bodies placed to form the letter Z (signature used by Zeta sicarios)

In a horrendous show of force 20 victims of organized crime-style executions were tossed onto the streets of Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas by suspected rival drug cartel gangsters. Ciudad Madero is located on the gulf coast of Mexico 250 miles south of Brownsville, Texas.

A spokesman for the state prosecuter’s office of Tamaulipas said the 20 bodies had been recovered from the streets in four different neighborhoods of the city. Among the dead were 18 men and 2 women. None of the victims were identified by authorities.

All the victims were bound and showed signs of torture and gunshot wounds. They were members of a criminal gang known as “los alacranes”, the scorpions. Some of the bodies had “narco” posters attached but authorities did not release the contents of the messages.

The spokesman for the state prosecutor’s office also stated that a group of gunmen had entered the Tampico-Altamira-Ciudad Madero area Thursday and were attacking and executing rival organized crime groups in all 3 cities.

Second set of 3 bodies placed to form the letter Z

Tamaulipas is the home territory of the Gulf cartel (CDG). It has become a no-man’s land since February of this year when a bloody war began with the rival Zeta criminal organization for control of drug trafficking in northeastern Mexico.

The Zetas and the CDG were previously partners in a single drug cartel that split apart after 2007 when the leader of the organization, Osiel Cardenas, was extradited to the U.S.

The deaths in Ciudad Madero were only one incident in a wave of violence that has overwhelmed Mexico since Thursday morning.

In Ciudad Juarez gunmen executed 19 people in a drug rehab center Thursday night and 3 municipal police officers Thursday evening. One decapitated body was also found Thursday afternoon.

In the capital city of Chihuahua, 2 men were found handcuffed and shot to death Thursday morning. The previous day 8 men were murdered by groups of gunmen in several shootings.

In Gomez Palacio, Durango, 2 state police agents were injured Thursday afternoon and 3 municipal police officers were killed Friday morning.

In Altamira, Tamaulipas, located a short distance from Ciudad Madero, 1 policeman was killed and 2 were seriously injured Thursday morning.

In Ciudad Valle, San Luis Potosi, 2 college students were slain in a crossfire during a gunbattle between 2 rival gangs Thursday night. Adriana Yareth Angeles Perez age 17 and Jessica Orozco Bustos age 18 were killed while driving to a college graduation party. 4 other students were injured.

In the municipality of Teloloapan, Guerrero, a group of gunmen traveling in 4 cars attacked a military convoy early Thursday morning. The army repelled the assault and reported 2 of the gunmen killed and 7 detained. An unknown number of the criminal group escaped.

Thursday afternoon in the town Tlapa , Guerrero, 3 men were attacked by unidentified gunmen. 2 men died of their wounds in a hospital and the third man remains in serious condition

Also in Guerrero in the city of Iguala, one body was found Friday morning wrapped in a blanket or “encobijado”, a common form of organized crime signature.

In the municipality of Guasave, Sinaloa, 3 more “encobijados” were found Thursday morning.

"encobijados" in Guasave, Sinaloa

They were among a group of men abducted by a band of gunmen traveling in a group of up to 20 vehicles who attacked and occupied overnight the small town of Baburia, Sinaloa. Several vehicles, homes and business were burned down. Most of the population escaped and hid in the countryside during the orgy of gunfire and arson.

A family was shot down in their home Friday night in the town of Tultepec, Mexico state. The mother and her 1 year 4 month old child were killed. The father was seriously injured. The attack was allegedly caused by a dispute related to drug trafficking.

Categories: Mexican Crime, organized crime, tamaulipas