Five men were found dead at a highway bridge near Cárdenas, in Salamanca, Guanajuato, on the morning of Saturday, February 8, 2025. A banner left beside them claimed the killings for the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
People on their way to work spotted the bodies at about 6:00 a.m. on the bridge of the Irapuato-Celaya highway, according to Infobae and adn Noticias. Municipal police and the National Guard confirmed the discovery. Infobae said the bodies lay on the ground; adn Noticias reported they were hung from the bridge.
The two outlets agree on the injuries. Two of the men had been beheaded. Adn Noticias said one of them was wrapped in plastic and the other partly covered with a piece of cardboard. The others had their hands tied, and Infobae said early reports described visible signs of torture. Adn Noticias put the victims’ ages between 30 and 40 and said they showed gunshot wounds.
Officers sealed off the area. Investigators from the state prosecutor’s office began building the case file, and the bodies went to the forensic medical service, where they were expected to be identified.
What the banner said
The banner carried the legends “Puro señor Marro” and “CSRL.” Its message began: “Seguimos con la limpia en Cárdenas, Mendoza y rancherías aledañas,” which translates as “We continue the cleanup in Cárdenas, Mendoza and surrounding villages.” It also threatened anyone who supports the people it targets, and singled out the prosecutor’s office and public prosecutors in Salamanca. It was signed “El Chino y su grupo operativo,” followed by the line “A la orden del señor y dueño de Guanajuato, Marro.”
Infobae noted that the banner did not name the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, though unofficial reports said it was aimed at that group. The Santa Rosa de Lima organization is led by José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, known as “El Marro,” and is known for fuel theft.
Its fight with the Jalisco group over Guanajuato goes back to October 2017, when El Marro released a video vowing to drive out the organization led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho.” Press reports cited by Infobae say the dispute is about control of fuel theft and methamphetamine sales.
Sources
- Abandonan cinco cuerpos en Salamanca, Guanajuato; narcomanta atribuye crimen al Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima – Infobae
- Dejan 5 cuerpos colgados de puente en Salamanca, Guanajuato – adn Noticias
