Dozens of bodies found in eastern Mexico

AL Jazeera Americas

Prosecutor says the remains of 35 people with links to organised crime found in abandoned lorries in Veracruz. Last Modified: 21 Sep 2011 02:52

Media reports said some of the bodies had their hands tied and showed signs of torture [Reuters] The bodies of 35 people with links to organised crime have been found in two abandoned lorries on a highway underpass in eastern Mexico, authorities say. The bodies were discovered near a shopping centre in Boca del Rio, adjacent to the port city of Veracruz, state prosecutor Reynaldo Escobar told television station Milenio. "These were people involved in organised crime," Escobar said of the victims. Seven had been identified. Newspapers Milenio and La Jornada said some of the bodies had their hands tied and showed signs of torture. Local television showed some corpses dumped on the street and others in the vehicles covered with blue plastic sheeting. Earlier on Tuesday, the Mexican army announced it had captured a key figure in one of the country's newest drug gangs, the Knights Templar, that is sowing violence in western Mexico. Saul Solis, a former police chief and one-time congressional candidate, was captured without incident on Monday in the cartel's home state of Michoacan, Brigadier General Edgar Luis Villegas said during a presentation of Solis to the media. He is accused of drug trafficking, kidnapping and various attacks on the military and federal police. The Knights Templar split late last year from La Familia, a drug gang known as a major trafficker of methamphetamine. About 42,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a campaign against drug cartels at the beginning of his term in late 2006. Most of that violence has been focused on the northern border with the United States.

Source: Agencies

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