http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22197685.htm

Seven slain in Mexico, drug gangs suspected
22 Feb 2006 23:58:46 GMT

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The bodies of seven people executed in what appeared to be a gruesome settling of accounts among drug gangs were found on Wednesday in Mexico's Veracruz state, the latest victims in a wave of drug-related violence.

The unidentified victims, between 20 and 30 years old, had all been shot in the head, their eyes and mouths covered and hands and feet bound. Each was found with a small wooden crucifix, investigators said.

They were found in a sugar cane field in the town of Amatlan de los Reyes in the Gulf Coast state.

"They all had wounds to the head as a result of bullets from firearms, we found seven cartridges at the scene," a Veracruz investigator told a Mexico City radio station.

President Vicente Fox has vowed to crack down on drug trafficking and related violence sweeping Mexico's U.S. border and elsewhere. But after two police chiefs were shot to death near Texas this month, his office warned it would be a long fight and more deaths among security forces were likely.

Around 1,500 people have died since last year in a battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes to the United States from Mexico. The violence has strained Mexico-U.S. relations as Washington has criticized Fox's government for failing to curb drug gangs.