GRAPHIC: Cartel Gunmen Try to Hang Victim from Highway Overpass in Mexican Border State

A group of cartel gunmen tried to hang a man from a highway overpass in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon. The attempt failed and the cartel members left the tied-up body at the scene. The hanging of bodies is a common tactic used by drug cartels in order to inspire fear in their rivals.

The incident took place Friday morning along the highway that connects the Monterrey metropolitan area with the border city of Nuevo Laredo. Authorities initially received a call regarding a man hanging from a highway overpass near the city limits between the towns of Cienega de Flores and Salinas Victoria.

Authorities claim the victim was not hanging from the overpass but had been placed in a grassy area next to the overpass. It remains unclear if the gunmen did hang the body and it was later moved.

The victim had his hands and feet tied up and appeared to have had his pants pulled down; additionally, his pink shirt had been pulled over his head. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim nor revealed which criminal organization is responsible for the crime.

The gruesome crime scene comes as the Sinaloa Cartel is fighting with other groups, including the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas and some independent groups, for control of the local distribution of drugs as well as control of lucrative drug corridors to the Texas border, Breitbart Texas reported. This fierce turf war has led to hundreds of murders and gruesome executions in recent months.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.P. De La Garza” from Nuevo León.