New terror strikes Sinaloa, as bodies of 20 kidnapping victims are found burned, shot

Sinaloa state on Mexico's northwest Pacific coast is a seedbed of extreme narcoviolence. On the evening of Friday, November 4 eight people were machine gunned to death while enjoying a game of volleyball in a city park. Six others were critically injured in the deadly assault, carried out by a commando square armed with AK-47s and U.S. made AR-15 military assault rifles.

Earlier this week stories circulated about a series of kidnappings in Culiacán, the state capital, and other communities. People were taken right out of their homes, or on the street in broad daylight at several different locations, by teams of armed gunmen. Among those seized were three local police officers.

Today 20 bodies have turned up in Sinaloa. The badly burned remains of 16 people were discovered in two vehicles which had been set afire in Culiacán. Some of those victims were handcuffed, and some were dressed in bullet-proof vests, indicating that they were almost certainly cartel operatives themselves. In another town, four victims were found shot to death in an abandoned vehicle, one of whom had been decapitated. None of the 20 victims has yet been identified, and there are no suspects in the crimes.

Update 4:30 p.m. No sooner had I posted this story than the Sinaloa state prosecutor announced the discovery of another five execution victims, in other locations. The body count, at least as of this hour, is thus 25.

The Nov. 5 volleyball attack: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/eight-executed-during-volleyball-game.html.