Mexico: narcocorrido singer Ernesto Barajas murdered

A Mexican regional music singer, whose repertoire included songs dedicated to drug gangs, was shot to death Tuesday in the town of Zapopan in western Mexico.

Ernesto Barajas, a member of the group Enigma Norteño, was found inside a parking lot, authorities said.

Several performers of these songs, known in Mexico as narcocorridos, have been targets of organized crime violence. At the end of May, five members of the group Fugitivo were found murdered.

"From the moment that the death of the aforementioned person became known, the State Prosecutor's Office began the corresponding investigation to clarify the facts," authorities told AFP.

The victim was shot by two men who arrived on a motorcycle and fired several shots at him, according to Zapopan police. Another man was killed in the attack and a woman was injured in the leg.

Affinity and links with 'Los Chapitos'

The Enigma Norteño group has four million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Among its repertoire are songs referring to drug trafficking characters such as '¿Van a querer más?', dedicated to Nemesio Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG), one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.

Or 'Los Chapitos,' dedicated to the sons of Joaquín Chapo Guzmán, currently in prison after being found guilty of multiple charges by the US justice system.

Violence continues: six heads found on Mexican highway

Mexican authorities on Tuesday found six human heads abandoned on a highway connecting the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala (central), the prosecutor's office revealed. The finding, unprecedented in that region of Mexico, was reported by motorists and later confirmed by the Tlaxcala prosecutor's office, where the remains were found.

Another skull and more human remains were detected in the city of Colima (west), also reported another police source quoted by local media.

The heads found in Tlaxcala correspond to six men, the prosecutor's office detailed on its social networks, and advanced an investigation to identify those responsible for the act.

According to local media reports, a pamphlet was allegedly found at the site that attributes the beheadings to a settling of scores between gangs dedicated to gas theft. Although in Puebla and Tlaxcala the presence of gangs dedicated to the transfer of drugs and fuel has been detected, both states were previously unaffected by this type of violence.

However, in recent months there have been reports of bodies being found in the border area between the two regions.