Six beheaded bodies found along highway in Chihuahua, Mexico on October 24

Reports indicate that on October 24 six beheaded bodies were found in Creel along a highway connecting said locale with San Juanito in the Chihuahua State. A flipchart was found along the bodies signed by César Daniel Manjarrez Alonso, locally known as “The H2”, one of the most wanted men in the state. Security forces were later deployed to the area but no arrests have been made at the time of writing. Manjarrez Alonso is the leader of “La Línea” (The Line), a faction within the New Juárez Cartel, which rivals with the Cartel de Tigre, a group aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Local gangs in Chihuahua struggle for influence and control over clandestine logging activities. It is commonplace for cartels to commit gruesome executions of rivals and to showcase their bodies as a token of strength, meant to intimidate enemies. Bearing in mind the difficult topography and ruffed landscape of the Mexican North West, security services are not likely to access cartel strongholds in Sierra Madre Occidental. In any event, this incident underlines the risks of operating in the area without proper security protection.