Over 20 shot, found dead around Mexico

Some 20 people were reported killed in executions or gun fights with state forces, or found dead around Mexico on 18-19 January, Proceso reported. These included: five suspected criminals killed in a shootout with police and the army on the night of 18-19 January in the north-western district of Mochis in the state of Sinaloa, and six shot dead by troops and police in the district of Puente Nacional in the east-coast state of Veracruz. Thousands of troops and federal policemen have been sent to Veracruz within the Veracruz Seguro operation, in a bid to curb a surge in organized crime there. The operation was recently extended to the Sotavento zone in the state that includes Puente Nacional, the district where troops reportedly came under fire late on 18 January, Proceso reported. The website reported the discovery in Estado de México of the bodies of three men apparently shot to death; they were found on 19 January by a road linking Toluca and Temascaltepec. In addition six bodies were discovered on 18 January in the states of Estado de México, Puebla and Morelos; one of the victims here was found cut into bits, and three in a state of "advanced" putrefaction in the district of Tochimilco in the state of Puebla. Six skeletons or the bones of six people, were found in a house in the west-coast district of Acapulco on 18 or 19 January, the daily El Universal reported.