In a remote desert area of the violence-plagued southwestern state of Guerrero, Mexican authorities are launching an investigation into a gruesome massacre that occurred during a clash between two rival criminal groups vying for control. On Friday, police investigators arrived in Buenavista de los Hurtado to find five burned bodies piled onto a burned vehicle, as reported by the state attorney general in a statement released late on Saturday.

Local media, citing footage shared on social media by alleged members of the Familia Michoacana and interviews with unnamed sources in the area, have reported that the death toll from the incident reaches a staggering 30 people. These sources suggest that the massacre was carried out through a drone attack.

The footage from the desert shows heavily armed men dressed in military clothing stacking the bodies, some of which are naked with their clothes scattered on the ground, onto a bullet-riddled red pickup truck. Shockingly, one man is seen arranging a severed head on top of the pile while another, filming the scene from all angles, urges more violence in explicit language.

Though Reuters was unable to independently verify the video, several local media outlets subsequently shared similar videos showing the same burnt vehicle and piled bodies, increasing their credibility.

According to Mexican authorities, the state attorney general's statement acknowledges an ongoing "confrontation between the criminal groups of Familia Michoacana and Los Tlacos, which have a running dispute for control of the area." The investigators, however, found no evidence of other crimes in the vicinity.

Sadly, the advancement of investigations has been hindered as villagers in the area declined to provide DNA samples that would aid in the identification of the remains. This refusal fosters challenges for authorities in their efforts to bring justice to the victims and hold accountable those responsible for the horrific massacre.

The Mexican authorities are currently working diligently to uncover the full scale of the violence and inquire further into the motives behind this deadly clash. The continuous clashes and power struggles among criminal groups in the region only serve to worsen the already dire security situation, highlighting the urgent need for government intervention to restore peace and protect the lives of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.