The bodies of four apparent homicide victims believed to be linked to the crystal methamphetamine trade were found dumped beneath an overpass on the Panamerican Highway outside of Juárez, police said.
The bodies were found early Monday, June 1, on the Panamerican Highway, south of Juárez at the interchange connecting roads to the border crossings at San Jeronimo-Santa Teresa to the west and Guadalupe-Tornillo to the east, Chihuahua State Public Safety Secretary Gilberto Loya said at his weekly Monday news conference.
Drug trafficking: Mexico hands 37 cartel members to US, including reputed border narcos
The deaths were suspected of being linked to two drug cartels and gangs fighting over retail meth sales in Juárez, Loya said.
A police officer stands guard during a Mexican government event, “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace,” in which weapons handed over voluntarily by residents are destroyed, a program that aims to remove weapons from the civilian population by exchanging them for cash, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 26, 2026. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
The unidentified dead men were found seminude with signs of having been tortured and gunshot wounds, the Norte Digital news site reported.
A sign stating “here are your ‘cristaleros‘” — a reference to crystal meth — was left alongside the bodies, reported El Diario de Juárez.
May murders decreased in Juárez
Following a spike in killings in April, homicides in Juárez decreased in May, according to news media tallies and state police figures.
There were 39 homicides in May compared with 75 homicides in April, according to unofficial tallies by Norte Digital and other news media and statistics for April from Mexico’s federal attorney general’s office.
May had a total of 101 homicides across the entire state of Chihuahua, making it the month with the fewest violent deaths since April 2016, Loya said, who credited cooperation among local, state and federal forces for the overall trend of declining homicides.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 4 bodies left under Mexico highway bridge outside Juarez
