Earlier today, the bodies of four young men who had been missing since Saturday were discovered inside a vehicle in Zacatecas, a northern Mexican state wracked by organized crime-related violence.

“During the course of Sunday, February 13, the vehicle in which the young people were traveling was found abandoned (…) 4 lifeless bodies were found on board,” the Zacatecas prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Monday.

The remains were discovered on a roadway in the community of Genaro Codina, some 45 kilometers from Zacatecas, the capital of the same-named state, according to the agency.

Initially, the Prosecutor’s Office stated that five young individuals were kidnapped early Saturday morning as they left a nightclub in Zacatecas, but they did not specify where the fifth was taken.

“The Prosecutor’s Office keeps the investigation open, collecting the evidence that is necessary to integrate a line of investigation that leads to the identification of the person or persons who have participated in these events,” he said.

In recent years, drug-related violence has increased in Zacatecas, a state claimed by the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels, according to officials and observers.

In February, 16 bodies were found in two parts of the state.

Violent events such as confrontations and the finding of bodies hanging in public places increased by the end of 2021. As a result, the federal government sent in the military to beef up security in the area.

Since December 2006, when the federal administration of then-President Felipe Calderón initiated a contentious anti-drug strategy with the direct participation of armed personnel, Mexico has reported more than 300,000 homicides, according to official estimates.

Although opposition leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador slammed the approach, the current president maintains the military presence around the country.

Image Credit: Getty

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