Mexican police found thirteen bodies dumped near a gas station in the western state of Michoacan, authorities said Monday. The bullet-riddled male bodies were found early Monday in the town of Zitacuaro, according to a statement from the local attorney general's office.
Michoacan, some 200 miles (300 kilometers) west of Mexico city, is one of the worst-hit areas in a wave of drug-related violence which has left around 50,000 dead, according to media counts, since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on organised crime in 2006.
Remnants of the pseudo-religious La Familia drug gang and its offshoot the Knights Templar are known to operate in the area. The grim discovery came as pressure mounted on the government to update the official toll of the country's drug-related violence.