Four decapitated bodies were found hanging from a bridge in the capital of western Mexico’s Sinaloa state on Monday, June 30.

 

Authorities said the gory discovery is part of a surge of cartel violence that k!lled 20 people in less than a day.

 

A bloody war for control between two factions of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel has turned the city of Culiacan into an epicenter of cartel violence since the conflict exploded last year between the two groups: Los Chapitos and La Mayiza.

 

De@d bodies appear scattered across Culiacán on a daily basis, homes are riddled with bullets, businesses shutter and schools regularly close down during waves of violence. Masked young men on motorcycles watch over the main avenues of the city.

 

 

 

Los Chapitos, led by the sons of notorious drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, have reportedly become so desperate to win the internal civil war that it has allied with long-time rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

 

On Monday, Sinaloa state prosecutors said that four bodies were found dangling from the freeway bridge leading out of the city, their heads in a nearby plastic bag.

 

 

 

On the same highway, officials said they found 16 more male victims with gunshot wounds, packed into a white van, one of whom was decapitated.

 

Authorities said the bodies were left with a note, apparently from one of the cartel factions.

 

While little of the note’s contents was coherent, the author of the note chillingly wrote: “WELCOME TO THE NEW SINALOA”.

 

 

Feliciano Castro, Sinaloa government spokesperson, condemned the violent k!llings on Monday and said authorities needed to examine their strategy for tackling organized crime with the “magnitude” of the violence seen.

 

“Military and police forces are working together to reestablish total peace in Sinaloa,” Castro said.