Mexico's north-central Zacatecas State has suffered from drug-related violence in the past, finally ushering in a period of peace. But in July this year, residents of the town of Poso de Gamboa woke up to the shocking sight of five corpses hanging from a bridge—a brazen warning from the drug lords. This not only shattered the brief calm, but also proved that the bloodshed and conflict never really disappeared in the first place.
According to an AFP report on the 9th, Poso de Gamboa is a small, peaceful town of about 5,000 people, known for growing pinto beans. However, Zacatecas' key geographic location connects Mexico's central, northern, and western regions, making it a critical trafficking corridor for smuggling drugs from Colombia and beyond to the U.S. market. For years, it has been fiercely contested by criminal gangs. Mexico’s two largest drug cartels—the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel—have waged a protracted, bloody war here to control this golden route.
In the past, killings and disappearances were a near-daily occurrence until authorities strengthened coordination between federal and local police forces. As a result, the number of homicides dropped sharply from more than 1,300 in 2022 to 144 projected for 2025. But the brief peace was shattered on July 18, when residents witnessed five bodies hanging from a bridge early in the morning. Among the dead were a former mayor, a public servant, and a business owner. Five more bodies were found elsewhere in town, making for a total of 10 deaths in a single day.
“They kill people for any excuse”
This massacre left residents living in terror. One resident revealed that the atmosphere in town is extremely tense—by 9 p.m. the streets are completely deserted, and the once bustling town “looks just like a ghost town where nobody ever lived.”
He said helplessly that nearly everyone in town has a friend or relative who was murdered or has gone missing, and that most missing people have likely been killed: “The reasons they kill people are trivial—they kill you for any excuse.” Another woman selling on the street recalled seeing the horrifying sight of bodies dangling from the bridge at 4 a.m.
Intimidation Tactics Common Among Mexican Drug Lords
Hanging corpses from bridges or dumping them in public places is a tactic commonly used by Mexican drug lords to intimidate rivals and authorities—a practice that dates back to 2006 when the government first deployed federal troops to fight drug trafficking. The bridge where this incident occurred has, in the past, been used multiple times as a bloody showcase for drug lords' warnings.