DAMN! 25 PEOPLE GET THEIR HEADS CHOPPED OFF BY MEXICAN DRUG GANGS!

Members of a notorious Mexican drug cartel stormed a remote jungle ranch in Guatemala and slaughtered 27 people, beheading 25 of them, authorities said.

The massacre, which stretched from Saturday into Sunday, took place on a coconut farm in the lawless region of Peten province, a porous region on the Mexican border known as a gateway for drug trafficking.

It was one of the worst mass killings since the end of Guatemala's 36-year civil war in 1996, authorities said.

Police were investigating a link between the ranch killings and the murder of Haroldo Leon, the brother of one of Guatemala's biggest drug kingpins, Juan Jose "Juancho" Leon, who was killed in 2008.

Local reports said the ranch belonged to Haroldo Leon, who was gunned down with three of his body guards in another part of Peten early Saturday.

Hours later, heavily armed members of Mexico's Los Zetas drug gang raided the ranch, tying up their victims before killing them and then writing in blood threatening messages on the walls of the house, cops said.

One of the messages read, "Salguero, we're coming for you." Police did not say who Salguero was.

Police said that the victims - including two women and children - worked at the farm.

Late Sunday, authorities said they found one survivor of the massacre, who had pretended to be dead. Cops didn't release any other details about the survivor.

The brutality of the killings and the beheadings are a trademark of Los Zetas, one of Mexico's most violent drug gangs.

The Zetas have been warring for turf in the north but have begun spreading their reign of terror into Guatemala, looking to seize control of smuggling routes and wipe out competition. A crew of Zetas was suspected of killing Juancho Leon three years ago.

Guatemala has a major base for Mexican drug-trafficking groups due to weak law enforcement and rampant corruption.

Smuggling is especially rampant in Peten because its border with Mexico is barely patrolled.

In December, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a state of emergency in Alta Verapaz, a province just south of Peten, and deployed army patrols to quell drug-related violence.

The state of emergency was lifted in February.





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