A bloody feud between rival drug gangs that left 17 people dead in Mexico – with chilling videos surfacing on social media showing the gruesome carnage – has resulted in a ceasefire.
After a bloody conflict between the Los Tlacos drug gangs and their rival Las Familia Michoacana made international headlines earlier this month, a priest helped mediate a fire between the warring gangs on February 19, according to reports. media reports.
The plan calls for no aggression and for each criminal group to respect the territory of others.
Members of the ‘Los Tlacos’ drug gang filmed themselves dragging around naked and partially nude bodies of dead La Familia Michoacana members earlier this month.
Most of the film materialreviewed by DailyMail.com, was too graphic to be published.
One disturbing video showed men dressed in camouflage throwing the bodies of their male victims into a pile while swearing at them.
One gangster kicked the lifeless remains, after which the bodies were set on fire and shot with guns.
Members of the ‘Los Tlacos’ drug gang send a chilling message to their enemies in an online video following the bloodshed in Guerrero, Mexico earlier this week
Los Tlacos also recorded stacking and burning the bodies of their rivals. Most of the images were too graphic to share
Armed members of La Familia Michoacana in a photo shared on social media
Mexican authorities announced that they had recovered five charred bodies near the city of Las Tunas on Tuesday.
In one video, a man can be heard shouting “send me more (bodies)” as he fires a gun at the burning pile and then the ground.
Others shout, “So they won’t come back to life!”
In another clip, members of Los Tlacos warned their enemies.
“You kill women and innocents; we’re coming for you, you sons of a b…ch.’ said a gangster in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter.
“And you politicians, stop supporting this garbage,” he added.
The man stated over a loudspeaker that his group will protect the people in the mountain range.
The group of about 50 men then cheered as they raised their guns at the end of the video.
Government authorities are now working to identify the dead and have vowed to bring the killers to justice.
An alleged Los Tlacos gang member points his gun at one of the twenty members of La Bandera in 2021
Mexican drug gang Los Tlacos has taken very public revenge on its enemies by dumping four bodies of rival gangsters in the truck of a car outside a campaign office in 2021.
The incident is the latest example of rampant drug-related violence in the state of Guerrero.
Los Tlacos have previously released disturbing video footage of revenge on their rivals.
In September 2021, gang henchmen accused the ‘La Bandera’ gang of ‘extorting and murdering innocent people’ before forcing them to kneel and interrogating them at gunpoint in the middle of a forest in the state of Guerrero.
The men were filmed before they were executed, with at least four of the victims’ bodies left in the trunk of a car abandoned in front of Iguala Mayor David Gama Pérez’s campaign office.
Known as Tierra Caliente or the ‘Hot Lands’, the region is controlled by about 40 cartels and drug gangs vying for control of the area’s marijuana and heroin production. Insightcrime.org.
San Miguel Totolapan in the state of Guerrero is part of the zone known as the ‘Hot Lands’. The region has been embroiled in drug violence for years, forcing many residents to flee or take measures to protect themselves
Drug violence has become the norm in the state of Guerrero, prompting many residents, including children, to arm themselves
Members of Mexico’s National Guard (GN) tour the community of Ayahualtempa, southern Guerrero state, Mexico, January 31
Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG) has a strong presence in the area, while local crime groups Guerreros Unidos, Viagras, Rojos, Tlacos, Ardillos, Familia Michoacana and Tequileros are also fighting for their piece of the pie.
The Hot Lands are considered a prize not only for drug production, but also for the port of Acapulco – which is used to imports cocaine shipments from South America.
About 30,000 Mexicans die from crime-related deaths every year, according to U.S. State Department figures Global conflict tracker.
Recently, four Catholic bishops in the area met with cartel leaders to try to negotiate a plan for peace in the region.
Bishop of Guerrero Jose de Jesus Gonzalez announced on Ash Wednesday that talks to end drug violence in Guerrero have failed. Catholic leaders in Mexico met with cartels in attempt to ask them to end violence, but no agreement could be reached
The Bishop of Guerrero posed with dancers and community members as they celebrated his arrival at his post in April 2022
“No doubt we need to talk to certain people, especially when it comes to people’s safety, but that doesn’t mean we agree,” said one priest, who asked to keep his name withheld for his own safety.
Local families are calling for church leaders to be able to obtain information about missing loved ones from the cartel.
The drug war has forced thousands of mostly rural residents caught in the crossfire to leave the area for larger Mexican cities or move north to the US.
Nearly 160,000 Mexicans entered the US illegally in 2023, four times as many as the year before. The New York Times reports this.