Mexican authorities have provided new information about the discovery of eight dismembered bodies in the port of Tuxpan, Veracruz on January 28. The attorney general of Veracruz, Verónica Hernández Giadáns, revealed that forensic analysis has confirmed the remains belong to eight individuals, with three victims already identified and their bodies handed over to their families from the municipality of Poza Rica. Investigations are ongoing to identify the remaining five bodies. The discovery was accompanied by narco messages allegedly from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a notoriously violent criminal organization in Mexico, which contained threats against opponents and possible combatants of Guatemalan origin.

Over the past two decades, Veracruz has experienced significant violence linked to drug cartels, with their activities ranging from drug trafficking to kidnapping, extortion, and migrant trafficking. Veracruz ranked seventh nationally in 2023 for the highest number of extreme acts of violence, as reported by the civil organization Causa en Común. In September of that year, the country was shocked when 18 dismembered bodies were discovered in freezers at a safe house in northern Veracruz.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has attributed most of the murders in the region to clashes between criminal groups. According to figures from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, the number of such incidents decreased by more than 4% in 2023 to 29,675.