20 bodies found dead on Mexico's Sinaloa highway, cartel feud suspected; authorities launch probe

Authorities in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa are investigating the deaths of 20 men whose bodies were found with gunshot wounds near a highway bridge outside Culiacán, the state capital. At least five of the victims had been decapitated, officials said.

Local media reported that a hand‑lettered message, apparently from one of the warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel, was strung across the bridge. Investigators confirmed the note’s existence but declined to reveal its contents, saying only that it formed part of the inquiry, reported CNN.

Calling the massacre “a regrettable situation” and “part of the violence and insecurity Sinaloa is experiencing,” state Secretary‑General Feliciano Castro Meléndez said police and soldiers had been deployed to secure the area and hunt the killers.

Culiacán has been the epicentre of a bitter turf war since 2024 between La Mayiza, a group loyal to alleged cartel co‑founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and Los Chapitos, the faction led by the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Security analysts trace the latest flare‑up to the dramatic 2024 US arrests of Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons, a sting that deepened distrust between the rival camps.

Media sources have put Monday’s decapitation toll at five, the state prosecutor’s office later told Reuters that at least six victims had been beheaded, highlighting the fluid nature of the probe.

Local tallies suggest nearly 3,000 people reported dead or missing since the conflict erupted, according to local tallies.

Authorities say additional army units will remain in Culiacán “until peace is restored”, but residents complain the rival groups continue to patrol neighbourhoods openly, underscoring the state’s limited reach.