Four handcuffed bodies found in a helicopter with a "criminal message"

Friday in burnt wreckage 4 A photo of a helicopter in the Huasteca area of ​​the Gulf Coast, Mexico, where a detained body was found, and signs of being killed by a drug gang,officials said the killing was

It was the second violent act in a month. region.

A prosecutor in northern San Luis Potosi said that civilian helicopters are typically used to transport tourists. They said the aircraft didn't look like it had crashed, but rather it was intentionally lit. They said four victims were found handcuffed.

A terrifying discovery was made in Aguabuena, the town of Tamassopo, near the famous series of waterfalls.

The prosecutor said he had found "several sheets of paperboard with a criminal message," but did not disclose the contents. Such handwritten messages are frequently left by Mexican drug cartels to intimidate and intimidate rivals.

The Huastec region has long been popular with Mexican tourists for its waterfalls and crystal rivers.

In early June, San Luis Potosí authoritiesfound the bodies of seven men. FoundAbandoned on a road near the town of Akismon, the Huasteca region.

The photo of the body suggests that the corpse had extensive bruising and was beaten.

The text scribbled with the corpse marker states, "This is what happened to me while working in the Gulf." This is a clear reference to the Gulf Cartel, which operates primarily along the northern US border. The

message is signed "Valles Operation O.B." and is clearly a reference to a rival gang.

In May, the Justice Ministry stated that and former Gulf Cartel leader Mario Cardenas Gillen were handed over to Texas on suspicion of drug trafficking. ..

The Cartel "uses intimidation and extreme violence to maintain control of northeastern Mexico's territory and smuggle deadly drugs to communities across the United States," said the DEA administrator. Said Ammilgram.

According to a recent report by Congressional Research Services, the Gulf Cartel was a major competitor in the early 2000s when it challenged Sinaloa for trafficking routes. The former executive department, the Los Zetas, and the Zeta Cartel Fragment Group, which was, but is now fighting, are located on the territory of northeastern Mexico.

Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 murders, according to official figures, since December 2006, when the government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation.

An Italian hotel owner was shot dead in southern Mexico

An Italian businessman who owns a famous hotel in southern Mexico is in the town of Palenque where he lived. Local officials said they were shot dead.

The southernmost public prosecutor's office in Chiapas said he was shot at noon on Friday while Rafael Alessandro Tunesi was preparing to pick up his daughter from school.

"The police officer who arrived found him in the car. There were some gunshot wounds," the office said.

Tunesi lived in Chiapas for several years and was considered an expert in Mayan culture.

He and his Mexican wife owned Quinta Chanabnal, a luxury hotel inspired by the nearby Mayan ruins. This was a movie shooting scene.

A friend of his family who asked not to be named for security reasons told AFP that Tunesi is highly respected in the Palenque community.

A friend pays blackmail to merchants and businesses in the region where organized crime groups are an important center of Maya culture and their archaeological wealth attracts tourists from Mexico and abroad. He said he was requesting.

Officials said the investigation into the killings had begun.

In states across Mexico, attacks on businesses are doubling as authorities say they may be in retaliation for refusing to pay the extortion demanded by criminal syndicates.

On May 24,killed 11 people in an attack on two bars and a hotel in Celaya, Guanajuato, central Mexico

AFP contributed to this report.