Distressful photos show bodies hanging from bridges in the popular Mexican tourist hub of Baja California Sur on December 20 - marking the spread of inter-cartel violence.

The bodies of six men hung alongside banners called narcomantas for the first time in the northwestern Mexican state - where violence between different drug cartels has grown deadly in the past three years.

And on Friday an American citizen was gunned down in the Pacific resort town of Zihuatanejo, according to authorities, demonstrating the vast range of violence across the country as drug wars wage on.

The bodies of six men hung alongside banners called narcomantas for the first time in the northwestern Mexican state - where violence between different drug cartels has grown deadly in the past three years

Gang violence has increased in the country over the past decade, and has started seeping into tourist states that previously didn't see the deadly behavior

Guerrero state's security coordinating group said in a statement the American tourist identified only by the first name Douglas was shot three times. No hometown or further details of the killing were provided.

Gang violence has increased in the country over the past decade, and has started seeping into tourist states that previously didn't see the deadly behavior.

The increase prompted the US State Department to issue a travel warning for Baja California Sur towards the end of August. Also on the warning was Quintana Roo - home to tourist-laden Cancun and Playa del Carmen.

Most of Mexico has been listed as dangerous for tourist travel for many years - but the August notice was the first time those two states were included. At the time of the notice Mexican officials said there were areas of concern but believed the timing was related to political maneuvers in Washington.

The December 20 photos of men hanging from bridges show the true horror of the drug wars overtaking the countries.

Between hours of 4.30 and 6am the bodies of six men were found hung on three different bridges in the state of Baja California Sur, according to

They hung alongside banners known as narcomantes, according to My San Antonio, which were attributed to the Guzmanes y Tegoripenos gang.

'This is what will happen to anyone who does not fall into line with us,' one of the banners read.

'It has been made more clear that we hold all the power and that Baja north and south are ours.'

The six bodies hung alongside banners known as narcomantes, according to My San Antonio , which were attributed to the Guzmanes y Tegoripenos gang

A few days before the December 20 incident a body was found hanging on a bridge in the neighboring state Nayarit. Pictured is one of the six bodies found on December 20

Similar incidents have occurred in other parts of Mexico, and have only gotten more frequent in recent years. The killings that are accompanied by narcomantas are often attributed to the gang Guzmanes y Tegoripenos, which brags about 'cleansing' and killing government officials in the signs

The signs have been hung by the gang frequently in the past few months - and regularly reference threatening government officials and 'cleansing' the area.

In 2016 there were 49 homicide cases in Cabo San Lucas, a number which has more than quadrupled to 286 in just the first 11 months of 2017

The gang's name seems to refer to Tegoripa, a small town in the state Sinaloa and municipality Badiraguato, where the infamed drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was born.

The name Guzman is thought to be the inspiration for the other half of the gang's name.

Similar signs were hung around Tijuana, another popular tourist city, in the last few months of 2016.

A few days before the December 20 incident a body was found hanging on a bridge in the neighboring state Nayarit.

That killing was part of a wave in the state thought to be linked to organized crime. Narcomantas were at the scene of many of those murders, including the bridge hanging.

For decades tourist hubs such as Los Cabos avoided the deadly violence present in the rest of the country during the past decade's drug war. But in recent months violence has picked up, and homicides in Cabo San Lucas has seen a spike.

In 2016 there were 49 homicide cases in Cabo San Lucas, a number which has more than quadrupled to 286 in just the first 11 months of 2017.

There were 650 homicides in the state between January and November, marking 223 and 284 percent increases over the same periods in 2015 and 2015, respectively, according to MySA.

The incidents on December 20 were the first time anyone has hung bodies from bridges in the area.