Six human heads were found in an area previously untouched by extreme violence. The investigation is following the trail of a settling of scores.

Six human heads were discovered Tuesday on a road linking the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala in central Mexico, prosecutors announced.

This discovery, unprecedented in this region of Mexico, was reported by motorists and then confirmed by the prosecutor's office in Tlaxcala, where the human remains were located.

Another skull and human remains were also found in the western city of Colima, police sources quoted by local media said on Tuesday.

Rival gangs

The heads found in Tlaxcala belong to six men, the prosecutor's office announced on social media, and an investigation has been opened. According to local media, a text found at the scene claims to have been the subject of a settling of scores between rival gangs specializing in gas theft.

Although criminal gangs operating in drug and fuel trafficking have been denounced in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, this region of Mexico had until now been exempt from this type of violence, which has been more frequent for more than ten years in the northern states and on the Pacific coast of Mexico where drug trafficking groups operate.

On June 30, 20 bodies were found on a road in Sinaloa (northwest), including five decapitated. Since the controversial launch of the war on drug trafficking in 2006, Mexico has recorded more than 450,000 homicides and 100,000 disappearances, according to official figures.