Police in the Mexican border state of Sonora discovered two dismembered bodies abandoned on the side of a road with a narco-message Sunday night in Ciudad Obregón. The discovery was made after police received a report from a passing motorist.

Sonora state police (PESP) and investigative personnel from the state attorney general’s office responded to a report of discarded bodies in colonia Maximiliano R. López at calle Otancahui and Guerrero. At the scene, officers made the grisly discovery. The badly dismembered bodies were later identified as two previously reported kidnapping victims. One was identified as Mario Reynaldo, 35, a former municipal police officer from Cajeme. Mario Reynaldo was reportedly kidnapped by a group of armed individuals on June 13 as he was preparing to board his Ford Explorer in front of an Oxxo convenience store in colonia Casa Blanca. The second victim was later identified as Carlos Gerardo, 38. Reports indicate that he was also a kidnap victim, but no details were released. One of the victims reportedly had his heart cut out and was attached to the body with a piece of wire, according to local media.

Sonora is seeing an uptick in cartel-related violence with Cajeme reaching a total of 34 homicides in June. The violence is attributed to an ongoing territorial dispute between “Los Salazar,” aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Beltran Leyva Organization’s regionally aligned groups.

According to Breitbart News law enforcement sources, the narco-banner included a threatening message to those supporting Los Salazar. Sonora shares an international border with Arizona and is a valuable strategic state due to its plentiful smuggling routes to the U.S. market. Ciudad Obregón is located approximately 330 miles from the U.S.

During a five-day stretch within the last week, a total of 28 people were murdered.

Sonora Homicides per Year

2016 – 580

2017 – 693

2018 — 745

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)