Mexico Body Count Continues to Rise as Drug Cartels Struggle for Control of the Region

Authorities found yet another mass burial site in Mexico, this time outside the city of El Fuerte in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

According to officials, the bodies of five men were discovered in an advanced state of decomposition in the clandestine graves outside the city, in the community of Mochicahui. One of the deceased is suspected to be a minor.

Investigators began searching for the clandestine graves on Saturday after receiving a tip from a relative of one of the missiing men. Authorities found the first body that same day, according to the AG’s office spokesman.

The other four bodies were discovered on Sunday, the AG’s office spokesman said.

The body of the first man was found inside a black trash bag, according to the AG’s office said. Two of the victims had their hands bound, and one appeared to be a minor.

Although the identity of one man is suspected to be the relative of the tipster, autopsies will be conducted in an effort to identify the men, as well as establish the cause of death.

Army troops and police sealed off the crime scene, according to officials. They also stated that a number of relatives of missing men in the area showed up at the site.

One of the country's oldest and most powerful drug cartels, the Sinaloa cartel, runs operations in the area, and with the constant fight for control, violence in the area runs rampant.

A number of bodies have been found in the area as cartel violence from bloody turf wars remains steady. Last month, three bodies were found in Concordia, a city in Sinaloa. That discovery came a day after police found 12 bodies inside an abandoned pickup truck in the city of San Ignacio.

The leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, or "El Chapo," was arrested in February 2014 after a long tenure as the cartel's leader.

There are speculations as to who's running the massive group -- Loera's son "El Chapito" has been one suggestion -- but no one has been identified as of yet.