3 bodies thrown out of plane in suspected Mexican cartel turf war

At least three people have been thrown out from a plane allegedly belonging to Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa drug cartel, once run by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, local media reported. One of the bodies landed on the roof of a hospital.

According to local police, the bodies were dumped at dawn on Wednesday morning from a single engine plane in the Sinaloa State of Mexico. One of the bodies landed on the roof of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) hospital in the town of Eldorado at around 7:30 am. The half-naked man had signs of torture on his body with his head covered with a sack. 

Witnesses saw a plane flying at a low altitude from which a person – who may or may not have been alive at the time of the incident – was pushed out onto the hospital’s roof, Reuters reports.

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Two more bodies were discovered nearby by local residents in the Arboleadas colony, with witnesses claiming that they too were flung out of the same plane.

Unidentified “armed men” have reportedly taken the two bodies, while the third, which landed on the roof of the hospital, was retrieved by security forces, who are now trying to determine the person's identity. The identity of the other two victims also remains unknown.

The area over which the tragic incident took place is currently controlled by Damaso Lopez Nunez, also known as "El Licenciado," a prominent figure of the Sinaloa Cartel.

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Sinaloa is one of the most violent states in Mexico. It is the birthplace of the Sinaloa cartel leader, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, who has recently been extradited to the US to face a number of criminal charges. Currently, control of drug routes to the United States is disputed between the Sinaloa and the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG).

Sinaloa Ministerial Police said in addition to the three bodies thrown out of the plane, security forces discovered another four bodies who were “violently” murdered on Wednesday in the municipalities of Culiacan, Navolato and Mazatlan.