5 Bodies Found Near Pitiquito, 2 Beheaded And Mutilated By A Train, Sonora

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In Caborca municipality, Sonora, the three men were found dead on the railroad tracks. After having been abandoned on the tracks and left at the mercy of the train, two of the three remains were said to have been beheaded by a passing railcar. 

Later, in nearby Pitiquito, two more dead men are found. Both are currently presumed to have been acting as paid lookouts for a cartel organization.

At some time before 3:30 pm on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 7, 2021, a witness discovered that three dead bodies had been placed near the train tracks of the Mexicali-Benjamin Hill railway line. 

The witness called the 911 emergency phone line to report the discovery and officers were sent to the location, on tracks near the La Kloaca (spelled “Kaloka” in some publications) crossroads. The bodies had been placed only a few meters away from the Las Enchilayas rail station.

Officers arrived on scene and confirmed the discovery at roughly 3:30pm. All three male bodies showed signs of torture upon initial inspection. Two of the bodies were found to have been decapitated and mutilated by a train passing over their bodies, presumably post mortem.

A few hours later, in the nearby municipality of Pitiquito, Sonora, two more bodies were discovered and reported by people passing through the area. Two male remains were found on the upper section of a hill known locally as “El Picudo”. Both of the deceased were said to be wearing “tactical clothing”, according to Proceso. This tactical clothing was further described by El Imparcial as being “dressed in camouflage- type clothing” and “military style clothing” by El Sol de Caborca. 

Both bodies had multiple gunshot wounds, which are currently presumed to be their cause of death. A preliminary review of the level of decomposition suggested that the men had been dead for two to three days prior to the discovery.  Some photos alleged to depict the El Picudo crime scene posted by El Sol de Caborca show that at least one of the bodies was encased in black plastic trash bags, surrounded by stones. Currently both men are unidentified. 

El Imparcial reports that investigators currently suspect both men were working as “halcones”, or hawks, a type of lookout job in which cartels pay individuals to report on the movement of their enemies, both of rival cartel members and of government security forces. Halcones can  also be used to spot potential targets for kidnapping for ransom operations. Opinión Sonora further adds that the hill they were found on was presumed to be the location from which the two men were doing their “hawking”, or spotting. 

The Altar Desert region in the state of Sonora has suffered an escalation of violence in the last few months. At first, the violence was primarily centered around the Magdalena de Kino municipality, thought to be controlled by Los Gigios, a Caborca cartel ally. They were believed to be fighting against elements of Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Salazars, such as the group Los Cazadores. The worst and most violent of these clashes occurred around July 24, as covered in this previous Borderland Beat article. 

Now the violence has moved more towards the area of Pitiquito municipality, most especially near the town of Pitiquito itself which sits sandwiched in between the city of Caborca, controlled by the Caborca Cartel and the town of Altar, controlled by Los Salazars. 

On August 26, 2021, Los Cazadores left a narcomanta threatening the chief of police of Pitiquito, telling him he had three days to get out of town or else they would kill him. On September 1, there were houses in Pitiquito that were reportedly shot up; the owner of the homes are unclarified in media reports. 

Most recently, on September 6, 2021, there was a gunfight in Pitiquito between rival cartel groups that later turned into a confrontation between members of a cartel group against the State Police (PESP) which killed one officer and reportedly another officer was kidnapped. Four hitmen were reportedly killed in the encounter.

Warning: Graphic photos below this point.

Sources: Proceso, El Imparcial, Tribuna, El Sol de Caborca Article 1, Article 2, Opinión Sonora, Radar Sonora, Linea Directa Portal, Valor por Tamaulipas    

Previous Borderland Beat: Magdalena Sonora Gun Fights In July, Los Cazadores Police Chief Narcomanta, Pitiquito GUnfight Kills 4 Gunmen, 1 Officer