15 bodies were discovered in a drug cartel-ridden area of southeast Mexico.

The bodies of fifteen individuals were found in pits in the drug-cartel-torn state of Chiapas in southern Mexico.

Chiapas State Governor Eduardo Ramirez described a plan to bring stability back to Frailesca, a farming area close to Guatemala where rival cartels have been engaged in a turf war, in a post on X.

“Unfortunately, 15 bodies (have been found) so far in secret graves in two properties,” Ramirez posted on social media on Saturday.

He added that weapons, vehicles and drugs were also seized and four people had been arrested, though he did not say if they were alleged to have been involved in the deaths of the 15 people.

Mexico’s cartel-related violence is concentrated in or along drug trafficking routes, borders and ports of entry.

Chiapas state has been described by the InSight Crime think tank as “a major smuggling hub of both drugs and migrants.”

Whole families have been killed in the brutal turf wars between the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels in Chiapas over the past two years, forcing villages to choose a side in the conflict. For their safety, hundreds of Chiapas residents have been forced to evacuate to Guatemala, a neighboring country.

According to official statistics, Mexico has seen over 450,000 murders and tens of thousands of missing persons since the start of its contentious anti-drug campaign in 2006.

Marcelo Pérez, a well-known Catholic priest who advocated for farmworkers and Indigenous peoples, was shot and killed in Chiapas in October.

Despite frequent threats, 50-year-old Pérez persisted in her work as a peace activist. Human rights activists claimed that Pérez did not receive the government protection he needed.