Authorities in Guerrero are investigating the ambush and murders of 10 indigenous musicians whose burned bodies were found in two vehicles on Friday afternoon.
Members of the group Sensación Musical were attacked in Chilapa while returning to their hometown of Alcozacán.
The head of the regional indigenous group CRAC-PF, David Sánchez, said his organization believes the attack to have been carried out by members of the Los Ardillos drug cartel.
State investigators conducted a search for ammunition cartridges and other evidence but had yet to find any, it said on Saturday.
One of the vehicles in which the men were traveling was found on the highway, while the other was found at the bottom of a 100-meter-deep ravine.
“It was apparently pushed into the ravine on purpose, for which we’ve opened a homicide investigation into the incident,” said state government spokesman Roberto Álvarez.
The bodies were unrecognizable due to burns, but indigenous residents blocked the Chilapa-Hueycantenango highway on Friday night after authorities refused to turn them over to their families.
Five of the 10 bodies were delivered to the victims’ families on Sunday. The state that authorities were still in the process of identifying and delivering the remaining five bodies to their families.
Guerrero is one of the most violent states in Mexico, and Chilapa has long been a battleground for the rivaling Los Ardillos and Los Rojos gangs. A clash between the two groups in the neighboring municipality of Zitlala left nine dead in October of last year.
