The abduction of a high-ranking Mexican Army officer led to a large-scale search operation in western portion of the country. After a day of being missing, authorities found the tortured body of the colonel.

The case began on Tuesday when Colonel Jose Isidro Grimaldo was driving from Jalisco to Zacatecas in a personal vehicle, El Universal reported. Both Jalisco and Zacatecas are currently suffering high levels of violence as cartels fight for control of drug routes.

Shortly after starting his drive, the colonel went missing. A search and rescue operation ended Wednesday evening with the discovery of his apparently tortured body, LopezDoriga.com reported.

Various news outlets in Mexico identify Grimaldo as the commander of a motorized regiment based in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, a region that has seen numerous clashes between military forces and gunmen. The dominant cartel in Nuevo Laredo is the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. However, the region where the body was found is controlled by Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG). While both CDN-Los Zetas and CJNG have a history of being allies of convenience, it remains unclear if those organizations played a role in the murder.

Grimaldo’s murder comes days after another in Zacatecas involving Mexican Army General Jose Silvestre Urzua Padilla. Urzua was the regional commander of the National Guard and led raids targeting corrupt local cops who were working for CJNG as part of a kidnapping crew. During a confrontation, gunmen attacked the National Guardsmen and managed to kill Urzua.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

“E.F Robles” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.