Mexican Drug Cartel Chops off Hands of Three As Punishment For Theft

A Mexican drug cartel has chopped off the hands of three people, two men and a woman, after accusing them of theft. The trio, between the ages of 22 and 26, were blindfolded and pushed out of a moving vehicle onto the roadside, along with their hands in a black bag.

They were found alive by passers-by in Silao in the central state of Guanajuato. Next to them was a bright green poster note that read: "This happened to me because I am a thief who does not respect good, hard-working people. Whoever continues to steal, this will happen to them,’’ the New York Post reported.

The note was signed CJNG, which stands for Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel, one of the most notorious narcotics gangs in Mexico.

Eyewitnesses say the three were pushed out of the vehicle on the Silao-Trejo highway on Friday night. People in the town of La Estrella rushed them and their severed hands to the hospital, according to a report. But as of Monday, the three victims were in critical condition, according to a report. Because of that, investigators from the Guanajuato attorney general's office have not been able to interview any of the three. It was unclear whether the doctors were able to reattach the victims' hands.

Last year, the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel murdered and mutilated 19 people, before hanging them from a bridge in the city of Uruapan. The cartel also posted a large white banner beside the dangling bodies, claiming responsibility.

The report quoted Falko Ernst, an International Crisis Group researcher studying Mexico’s cartels, who said the slaughter was carried out to intimidate rival criminal groups and Mexican authorities. He added that at least three armed groups -- CJNG, the Knights Templar, and Los Viagras -- had been battling for the control of the city.

The CJNG has become particularly notorious for its willingness to confront Mexican authorities with brazen public displays of brute force and firepower, the report said.