Violence associated with drug trafficking organizations is nothing new. Since the fall of the Colombian Cali and MedellĂ­n cartels in the 1990s, communities in Mexico have seen a massive increase in drug violence as cartels continue to fight for control of trafficking routes. Gruesome headlines highlighting these cartels and their shocking and cruel acts aren’t uncommon such as the case of a cartel cutting body of a woman.

The latest story stemming from these cartels comes out of the Mexican town Silao and is almost too shocking to believe.

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A woman and two men made news over the weekend after they were found with hands cut off after an encounter with a feared drug cartel.

The three victims (a woman aged 22 and two men aged 23 and 25) were found near a highway in Silao around 7.40 pm last Friday. Silao is a town 20 miles south of Leon. According to DailyMail, locals disturbed by the scene said that the group had been dumped from a vehicle along with a bag that contained their severed limbs. A note had also been left behind. It was signed by the much-feared Jalisco Nueva GeneraciĂłn Cartel and read “This happened to me because I am a thief who does not respect good, hard-working people. Whoever continues to steal, this will happen to them.”

The note was signed with the initials CJNG, or Jalisco Nueva GeneraciĂłn Cartel, a cartel considered to be Mexico’s most-dangerous cartel. Pictures taken of the victims show them blindfolded, with their arms and legs bound.

The victims’ wrists were tied using ligatures to prevent them all from bleeding to death.

After coming across the victims, locals called paramedics who then took them to a hospital.

According to El Universal, “Medics also took the severed hands in a bag of ice, in the hopes of being able to reattach the limbs since the wounds were fresh.”

The victims reported to medics that they had been kidnapped from the local area in a vehicle that none of them recognized. They said that after the kidnapping they were beaten and then had their limbs severed. According to DailyMail, “one man gave his name as Ricardo while the woman gave her name as Dulce, saying they came from the local area.” The other male victim was unable to give his name.

Police who arrived at the scene opened an investigation but have yet to identify any suspects.

Jalisco Nueva GeneraciĂłn splintered from the Milenio Cartel and created their own territory that runs across Mexico. According to DailyMail, “The cartel gained notoriety after being hired by El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel as foot soldiers in their war against the Los Zetas cartel.” They’re a group known for their ultra-violent tactics. Some claims have said that members of the CJNG have been rumored to have cannibalized victims in the past as a rite of initiation.