Mexico: 4 Bags of Human Remains, Dead Man With Plastic Bag on Head Found Amid Drug Cartels' Bloody Turf Wars

As Mexican drug cartels continue to fight over territory, the number of violent crimes in cartel-plagued Guanajuato state in Mexico continues to rise.

On Thursday morning, Periódico AM reported that four bags with human remains were found outside a grocery store in Opalo Street at Tinaja de Bernales community in Irapuato City.

A green cardboard was placed on one of the bags, with a message from an alleged drug gang. Residents, who saw the bags on the store's access ramp, said the human remains were cut in pieces. They further noted that there were no traces of any clothes, making it hard to identify the victim or victims.

Law enforcement officers arrived in the area after residents reported the packages to 911. Municipal police and National Guard members immediately cordoned off the area and reported the incident to the Public Ministry Agency.

After forensic personnel worked and collected evidence on the site, the bags were taken to the Forensic Medical Service for the autopsy.

In Celaya City, a dead man with a plastic bag covering his head down to his waist was found under a bridge in the community of La Cruz around midnight of Wednesday.

Authorities have yet to identify the victim, who was wearing black denim jeans. Local reports said his hands were also tied behind his back. The body, lying face down, reportedly had gunshot wounds. A cardboard with a message was also left on top of the body.

In Resurrección town, also in Celaya, two men, who were in their 60s, were shot in front of the church on Thursday afternoon. After providing first aid, responding police officers and paramedics rushed the victims to a hospital.

However, one of the two men died in the hospital due to gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest. The second man was reportedly in stable condition after he was shot in the left arm.

Meanwhile, two men in Celaya's Arboleda de San Rafael neighborhood died instantly on Wednesday afternoon after armed men broke into their house and repeatedly shot them.

After releasing 10 bullets to kill the victims, reports said the hitmen immediately boarded a vehicle and fled the scene.

Other Recent Killings Reported in Mexico's Guanajuato State

Last week, at least 21 people were reported dead in Guanajuato state in just 24 hours. The victims, consisting of men, women, and children, were found dead in several municipalities on January 17, with their bodies riddled with bullets.

A week before this, at least seven people were killed in two attacks in the state. Two men and two women were reportedly killed on the morning of 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.

Mexican Drug Cartels Are Fighting Over 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 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.

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 through 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.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Bodies of Young People Found in Mass Grave in Mexico's Guanajuato - From Al Jazeera English