Six hacked bodies found in taxi in central Mexico

Authorities in central Mexico on Thursday found the dismembered bodies of six victims in an abandoned taxi.

"Three cadavers were found in the trunk and another three is the back seat of the automobile," the daily El Financiero reported, citing the Attorney General's Office of Michoacan state (PGJE).

The taxi was abandoned by a roadside in the town of Venustiano Carranza on Michoacan's border with neighboring Jalisco state.

The bodies have yet to be identified and no one has been arrested in connection with the crime, the daily said, adding "initial investigations show the six bodies were slain in ... Jalisco and then dumped in Venustiano Carranza."

According to the daily El Universal, the PGJE's report of the incident said personnel from the agency's department of investigation were on patrol when they saw the cab cross the border from Jalisco into Michoacan, followed by a second vehicle.

When the drivers of those vehicles detected they were being followed by PGJE agents, they abandoned the taxi and fled in the second vehicle.

Western Michoacan is known to be operational territory for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Mexico's severe violence is blamed on rival drug cartels fighting each other for a larger share of the illicit drug trafficking trade. Endit