POZO DE GAMBOA, ZACATECAS, MEXICO – JULY 18, 2026 Five bodies hanging above the roadway were discovered on a bridge near the federal highway between Zacatecas and Saltillo. Additional victims were found left along roads in the surrounding municipalities of Pánuco, Morelos, and Saín Alto. During the investigation, authorities confirmed the discovery of at least ten victims in total.
Photo from the scene
All of the victims were men, and some of them were later identified. Among the deceased were reportedly Ignacio “Nacho” Castrejón, former mayor of the city of Sombrerete, and Andrés Vázquez Gurrola, a former councilman and former commander of municipal police in one of the regions of the neighboring state of Durango. Other victims were reportedly local business owners and residents of the area. Authorities stated that they are working on the full identification of all recovered individuals and on determining the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
According to investigators, the victims may have been kidnapped before their deaths. Although the families of some of the men reportedly had not previously reported them missing, police are investigating the possibility that the killings are connected to the activities of organized crime groups operating in the area.
Zacatecas is among the Mexican states that have long been affected by violence linked to drug cartels. The region’s strategic location makes it an important area for trafficking routes, which has led to repeated clashes between rival criminal organizations, particularly over control of local territory.
After the discovery of the bodies, state and federal security forces launched an investigation. Materials later appeared online in which unidentified armed individuals allegedly claimed responsibility for the killings and linked the attack to a conflict between cartel factions. However, these claims have not been officially confirmed by Mexican authorities, and the motive and perpetrators remain under investigation.
The public display of bodies on bridges and other heavily trafficked locations is often used in Mexico as a form of intimidation during conflicts between criminal groups. This case once again demonstrates the brutal nature of struggles for influence between cartels and how victims of this violence are often not only members of criminal organizations themselves but also people connected to local communities.
