5 found shot, bound in Mexico drug war

The bodies of five people whose hands and feet were bound before they were shot dead have been found along a road in Mexico affixed with warnings against a notorious drug cartel, authorities said. Police on Monday were alerted to two bodies of individuals who had been "shackled, tortured and shot in the head," an official in the prosecutor's office in the southwestern Michoacan state said on condition of anonymity. Police found a warning message with the bodies addressed to Jose de Jesus Mendez, nicknamed "The Monkey," reading: "This is what will happen to those who collaborate with The Monkey Mendez... Come collect your garbage." The other three bodies were found along the same road, the official said. Mendez is the head of the La Familia drug cartel, one of several powerful gangs who have battled each other and security forces across the country in recent years, racking up thousands of bodies. La Familia has been gripped by internal divisions, with many of its members splitting to create a new cartel known as the Knights Templar. An estimated 36,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an all-out, military-led crackdown on drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006.