Amid bloody turf war between Mexican drug cartels, the violence in Mexico's Guanajuato state intensified, with 21 people killed in just 24 hours.

According to Periódico AM, some men, women, and children were found dead in several municipalities on Monday, with their bodies riddled with bullets.

The first incident reportedly occurred outside a clinic in the Los Olivos, where motorcycle attackers killed a man. Hours later, in the same neighborhood, a man was killed in a grocery store.

In Santa Rita community, a man and woman were kidnapped from a bar, and eventually, they were found dead. The establishment was set on fire by the attackers.

Two guys were executed in a home at Teneria del Santuario in the evening after an armed attack. In Pénjamo, authorities found four people, including a woman, murdered in a house.

Authorities in Abasolo discovered a clandestine grave with bodies of three men and a woman who have not yet been identified.

Two men were also murdered in Valtierrilla's neighborhood. One of them was reportedly a cyclist traveling on the road to Los Vazquez community. Another man was murdered at night in the same municipality of Salamanca.

In Apaseo el Alto, three males on a motorcycle were gunned down while traveling on the road to El Zorrillo. Two of the victims were minors.

The 21st victim was a man who died from three bullets in the municipality of Yuriria. Of all the murders, authorities have not reported whether anyone from the killers has been arrested.

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7 People Dead in Guanajuato Killings in Mexico

Last week, at least seven people were killed in two attacks in the notoriously violent state of Guanajuato.

According to Mexico News Daily, two men and two women were killed at about 7 a.m. on January 9 after armed men entered a property near Acámbaro. In the evening, two men and a woman were murdered inside a house in the center of Irapuato. 

Pending data for December 2021, Guanajuato is reportedly destined to be named the state with the most homicides for the fourth consecutive year.

From January to November last year, the state recorded 3,239 homicides. Baja California followed with 2,800 homicides.

Guanajuato's population is only five percent of Mexico's population. However, it reportedly accounted for about 13 percent of the country's murders in 2020.

Mexican Drug Cartels Are Fighting to Control Territory

The Jalisco cartel has been fighting to take over territory in Guanajuato from local drug gangs. According to Border Report, the state is the scene of a bloody turf war between the Jalisco cartel and the home-grown Santa Rosa de Lima gang.

The bloodbath in the state reportedly started in 2018 when the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) moved into Guanajuato. The Jalisco cartel is infamous for its public displays of extra violence and military power.

According to the U.S. State Department, the Jalisco cartel is considered "to be the most violent drug trafficking organization currently operating in Mexico, with the highest cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine trafficking capacity."

Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera is currently leading the cartel. As he continued to evade capture, the U.S. government offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest. 

El Mencho remains to be the most elusive criminal and is reportedly hiding in Mexico.

READ MORE: Two Journalists Who Reported on Mexico's Drug Violence and Corruption Killed in Just a Week

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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