United Liberty

While the drug war takes a hefty toll on those who are incarcerated stateside for drug-related offenses, it takes an even more gruesome toll for victims of drug cartels south of the border:

Nine men’s heads were found in plastic bags in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero early Sunday. Eight of them were eventually identified as belonging to soldiers, and the ninth was a lawyer.

Residents of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero, found the heads before dawn, and hours later located the bodies elsewhere, local police said. They also discovered a message containing a reference to the country’s illegal drug trade, a local official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The beheadings were part of a circle of violence revolving around Mexican drug policy:

The beheadings were the drug cartel’s answer to the Friday slaying of three drug cartel members in a clash with soldiers in the town of Teloloapan, also in Guerrero state, the daily La Jornada reported, citing security sources.

Wouldn’t it be great if we denied organized crime of substances to use as a means of power? The way to do that is by terminating these ridiculous drug war.

Feuding drug cartels have engaged in a fierce battle to dominate Guerrero state. In the past two years, decapitated victims were recovered there at least three times. Two of those killed were federal police.