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The heads of five men were left on the bonnet of a car in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Friday, local authorities said.
In the midst of a spike in violence in the country, the severed heads were placed on an official car for the municipality of Tlacotalpan, along with a message containing the initials of a drug cartel know as the Jalisco New Generation.
Brutal displays of gang violence are not uncommon in Mexico, with clashes between rival drug gangs contributing to a record high number of murders in the country last year.
“We regret with deep sorrow the events that took place in our municipality last night,” read a post on the official Twitter account of the town.
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Veracruz is one of the most violent states in Mexico. Murders in Veracruz rose about 35 per cent through November last year compared with the same period in 2016.
The state also saw four of the 12 murders of news reporters that were carried out in Mexico last year. - Reuters