MONTERREY, mexico — Authorities struggled Monday to identify the 49 people found mutilated and scattered in a region near the U.S. border in a presumed fight between Mexico’s two dominant drug cartels.
More than 24 hours after the gruesome discovery, officials had yet to identify any of the corpses, found without heads, hands or feet. So far, no sign of gunshots had been found on any of the bodies, Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told Milenio television.
There were no reports of mass disappearances in the area, and only one couple had visited the morgue in the city of Monterrey where the bodies were taken. None of the six female bodies matched their missing daughter.
The 43 men and six women found Sunday were dumped at the entrance to the town of San Juan on a highway that connects Monterrey with Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas. The area is contested by the Sinaloa cartel, headed by fugitive drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and the Zetas, who authorities said were responsible for Sunday’s attack.
Though it’s not clear who the victims are, it was the fourth cartel massacre in an escalating tit-for-tat that seems to involve at least some innocents.
The Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel have emerged as main forces in drug-trafficking and other organized crime in the past year, with smaller gangs lining up on either side in a contest that resembles a war.
Authorities said at least a few victims had tattoos of the Santa Muerte cult popular among drug traffickers.
The area has seen 74 killings in the first four months of 2012.
