Zacatecas: 16 dead in two municipalities after alleged confrontation between criminal groups

(CNN Spanish) — The bodies of 16 people were found this Saturday in two municipalities of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, in what the state governor described as the product of a confrontation between criminal groups.

The first of the findings was made in the municipality of Fresnillo, where 10 bodies were found that “apparently are sheltered, they are tangled in blankets,” state prosecutor Francisco Murillo told reporters.

Murillo added that the other six bodies were found in the municipality of General Pánfilo Natera, which were “suspended in a warehouse.”

The governor of Zacatecas, David Monreal, said in a message sent to the media that the first investigations indicate that “presumably they are members of opposing criminal groups. However, we will wait for the investigations to conclude and provide certainty.”

Monreal added that clashes between organized crime groups have generated an “escalation of violence” in the state.

Panfilo Natera, Zacatecas. Credit: CNNE

On Twitter, the State Attorney General’s Office indicated that it was already investigating the events together with the Police.

The 16 bodies found this Saturday represent the latest chapter in a series of violent events that have occurred in recent weeks in the state.

On January 6, a truck that had 10 corpses with signs of beatings was abandoned at dawn this Thursday in front of the Government Palace of Zacatecas, according to what the State Prosecutor’s Office reported to CNN at the time.

The government of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, launched a security plan in November 2021 to increase the military and police presence in Zacatecas, mainly in the municipalities where an increase in violence was reported, with episodes such as the discovery of corpses exposed on public roads.