Six severed human heads found on road in Mexico

Warning: This article contains graphic content.

Authorities found six severed human heads along a road in a part of central Mexico where such extreme violence is rare, prosecutors said.

The remains were first reported by drivers using a road that links the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, according to authorities.

Another head and other human remains were reportedly found in the western city of Colima.

The heads found in Tlaxcala were those of men, the prosecutor's office said as it announced an investigation into the crime.

Local media said that at the site of grisly find, there was a pamphlet blaming the violence on a settling of scores between gangs that rob fuel.

Both Puebla and Tlaxcala are home to gangs that deal in drugs and fuel. But these states are new to this kind of extreme violence more common in other parts of Mexico, which is plagued by drug-related brutality.

However, in recent months, bodies have been found in areas near the border between the two states.

Extreme violence—such as decapitation—is more common in northern states and along the Pacific coast. Drug cartels operate in both.

On June 30, authorities found 20 bodies along a road in northwest Sinaloa state, five of them headless.

In March 2022, six heads and other body parts were found on the roof of a car on the main street of Chilapa in the southern state of Guerrero.

Around 480,000 people have died in drug-related violence around Mexico since 2006, when the government deployed federal troops to take on the country's powerful drug cartels. Another 130,000 are missing.