Liger seized, 11 bodies dumped as Mexico border cartel violence flares in Ojinaga region

A flare-up of Mexican drug cartel violence left 11 bodies dumped outside the border town of Ojinaga and the seizure of a liger kept as an exotic big cat pet in the backyard of a house, Chihuahua state officials said.

Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Gustavo Jauregui Moreno told reporters that the bodies were found Friday, Sept. 20, behind the installations of the federal electricity commission outside of Ojinaga, a border town across the Rio Grande from Presidio, Texas.

Two of the bodies had been decapitated and there was a threatening message left apparently by La Linea crime group stating that gruesome deaths is what would happen to traitors, Jauregui said. The deaths took place in confrontations away from Ojinaga before the bodies were dumped outside the town, he said.

The killings are believed to be due to fighting between rival narcotraffickers belonging to La Linea (also known as the Juárez drug cartel) and a group allegedly run by a person code-named “El 04,” pronounced " El Cero Cuatro ," the attorney general said.

Earlier this month, six other bodies were found along with bullet-damaged vehicles at various shootout scenes on Sept. 8 in the Ojinaga area and the nearby towns of Coyame del Sotol and Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua.

State police and the Mexican military have deployed reinforcements to the Ojinaga border region in an attempt to quell the violence.

Liger discovered after Mexico drug cartel violence

State investigators and soldiers discovered a liger during raids of three houses and buildings in the Coyame del Sotol area in connection with investigations into the violence, the state's attorney general's office said Saturday, Sept. 21. The buildings were abandoned and had walls pockmarked with bullet holes.

The liger was found inside a cage in the backyard of a house. The big cat, which was believed to be about 14 months old, appeared to be in good health and was taken away by federal environmental protection officials.

State police also found ammunition, tactical clothing, various rifle cases and a 2020 Toyota Tundra that had been reported stolen in Texas, officials said.

What is a liger?

A liger — which is a " ligre " in Spanish — is a hybrid offspring of a male lion and a tigress, a female tiger. A tigon is the offspring of a male tiger and a lioness.

Historically, ligers only exist in captivity because lions and tigers live in different habitats.

It is not uncommon for drug traffickers and others to keep lions , tigers and other big cats as exotic pets in Mexico.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Liger seized, 11 bodies dumped as Mexico border cartel violence flares in Ojinaga region