Mexico City, May 8 (EFE).– The charred, decapitated remains of three people were discovered inside a vehicle in a highland area of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

Police, who were informed of the killings shortly before 7:00 a.m. Thursday, found a narcobanner left at the crime scene – along the road linking the towns of Chilapa de Alvarez and Ahuacotzingo – but did not reveal the message it contained.

Detectives from the Guerrero state Attorney General’s Office arrived at the scene around midday Thursday, while forensics personnel transferred the remains to Chilpancingo, Guerrero’s capital, where autopsies and DNA tests to identify the victims will be performed.

Despite the massive presence of the Gendarmerie, a division of Mexico’s Federal Police, and army soldiers, Chilapa de Alvarez has been an organized crime hotspot in recent weeks, with turf battles between rival gangs leaving dozens dead and missing.

Ulises Fabian Quiroz, candidate for mayor of Chilapa de Alvarez of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was killed last Friday near the community of Atzacoaloya, while Aide Nava, who was in the running to be the leftist PRD’s candidate for mayor of Ahuacotzingo, was slain in March. EFE