Mexican police found 19 bodies – many of them burned and shot – in a remote area near the US border known for drug trafficking.
Authorities said the bodies were found in an uninhabited area of Tamaulipas, about 40 miles south of Rio Grande City, Texas.
Responding to a tip about a burning vehicle on Friday, officials discovered the bodies inside and on the back of a burnt-out pickup truck.
A second charred vehicle was found at the site.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the cause of death was shot with firearms and the bodies were subsequently set on fire,” said a statement by prosecutors.
“One of the lines of research is that the events could have happened in a different place from that of the discovery.”
No bullet shells were found on site.
The area is known for “constant fighting between rival criminal groups that trade drugs, weapons and migrants,” an anonymous source close to the investigation told Reuters.
With pole wires