A dog ran down the street in Mexico with a severed human skull in its mouth after stealing it from a gory crime scene.
Residents of the violence-plagued northern Mexican state of Zacatecas witnessed the animal escape a crime scene with its severed head.
The dismembered head was reportedly left at an ATM booth in Monte Escobedo on Wednesday night, along with a message stating “the next head is yours.”
The head was left on a cardboard poster with an apparent statement signed by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most dreaded organizations in the world led by El Mencho, Mexico’s most-wanted man.
The note identified a rival from the Operativo MZ cartel and stated, “The next head is yours.”
Before authorities could establish the crime scene and investigate the murder, the stray dog scampered away with the victim’s severed head.
A video shared on social media showed the dog carrying the head by the neck as it trotted down a darkened street, presumably with the intention of transporting it to a safe location to devour it.
The police then had to wrestle the dog’s head back.
The victim has not been recognized, and his remains have not been located.
Local gangs supported by the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels have been engaged in a prolonged, brutal turf war in Zacatecas.
As a form of intimidation against rivals or authorities, drug gangs in Mexico often leave letters among piles of dismembered human parts.
In addition to being sought by Mexican police, El Mencho is also wanted by the United States government, which is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
The Drug Enforcement Administration reported in its 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment Report that, under his leadership, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has a presence in 32 Mexican states and the country’s capital, Mexico City.
The cartel also spread across the border to eleven states and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in the United States.
Jessica Oseguera, the American-born daughter of El Mencho, was freed from a California prison in March after serving 25 months at a federal minimum-security facility.
In March 2021, she pled guilty to laundering money for the criminal group.
Rubén ‘El Menchito’ Oseguera, the son of El Mencho, is now in U.S. custody on gun and narcotics allegations that may place him in prison for more than 15 years.
Prior to his June 2015 arrest by Mexican security authorities, he was considered the heir apparent to the cartel’s throne and served as the organization’s second-in-command. In February 2020, he was extradited to Washington, D.C.