Northern Mexican City Tallies 53 Murders in June

The cartel violence in the Mexican border state of Sonora continues with the discovery of a lifeless body of an unknown male in the municipality of Cajeme, this Monday morning. Cajeme encompasses Ciudad Obregón and is located approximately 330 miles south of the Arizona border. The official homicide total for the month of June in Cajeme sits at 53.

This past Sunday morning at approximately 3 am, the body of an unknown male murder victim was dumped in Pueblo Yaqui. The man was shirtless, barefoot, and had his face covered by a red cloth with signs of torture. It is believed this murder victim was dumped at another location in Cajeme and was picked up by gunmen who later relocated the body approximately 12 hours later.

Locals reported the discovery of a murder victim in colonia Aves del Castillo at approximately 4 am Monday morning. After police arrived, they discovered a bound victim who suffered multiple gunshot wounds in a vacant lot at approximately 4:15 am. The male victim appeared to be a 20- to 25-year-old. Residents reported hearing gunfire before locating the body, local media note.

On Monday at approximately 11:45 am, two unidentified men were kidnapped in broad daylight by a group of armed men who forced the victims into a Toyota Tundra and sped away, according to local reports. This kidnapping occurred in colonia Centro in Ciudad Obregón. The investigation is ongoing.

The most recent killing on Monday night at approximately 10:45 pm was reported in a residential area behind the Ussi Norte government building in Ciudad Obregón, where a 68-year-old unidentified male was gunned down by unknown assailants. The victim was transported to a local hospital but died from his wounds. Witnesses reported hearing at least 30 gunshots.

Last week, Breitbart News reported on the discovery of two dismembered bodies abandoned on the side of a road with a narco-message in Ciudad Obregón.

Sonora shares an international border with Arizona and is valuable due to its plentiful smuggling routes into the U.S. The recent uptick in violence is attributed to an ongoing territorial dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization’s regionally aligned groups.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)