49 mutilated bodies on highway blamed on drug war

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Forty-nine bodies with their heads, hands and feet hacked off were found Sunday dumped on a northern Mexico highway leading to the Texas border in what appeared to be the latest carnage in an escalating war between Mexico's two dominant drug cartels.

The bodies were discovered before dawn lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to the desert town of San Juan, on a highway leading from Monterrey to the border city of Reynosa. A white stone arch welcoming visitors was spray-painted with black letters: "100% Zeta."

Nuevo León state security spokesman Jorge Domene said at a news conference that the 43 men and six women would be hard to identify because of the lack of heads, hands and feet.

The victims could have been killed as long as two days ago at another location, then transported to San Juan, a town about 105 miles west-southwest of McAllen, Texas, state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said. He did not rule out the possibility that the victims were U.S.-bound.

It seemed more likely that the killings were the latest salvo in a gruesome game of tit-for-tat fighting among brutal gangs. Mass body dumpings have increased in the last six months as the fearsome Zetas gang goes head to head with the powerful Sinaloa. -- AP