21 bodies found with warning notes in western Mexico

The victims, all males between the ages of 25 and 30, were found in different areas just outside the city limits of Morelia a city of some 600,000 people in Michoacan state, some 300 kilometers from Mexico City.

State prosecutor Jesus Montejano said forensic examinations were being carried out on the bodies, which were discovered late Wednesday and early Thursday in various sites.

Five bodies were piled atop one another near Buenavista port, and five more at a road leading out of town. Three bodies were found on a local football pitch, three behind a hotel, the remaining five bodies were retrieved from undisclosed sites.

Police said some of the victims' faces were covered by tape and some showed signs of torture.

The shocking discovery comes just a few days after a "caravan" against violence protest passed through the town.

Officials took the unusual step of releasing the contents of the warning notes on the bodies, which bore the same ominous message.

"Because society asked for it, this is going to happen to those who continue to rob houses, kidnappers and rapists."

Michoacan state is the base of the notorious drug cartel La Familia, which is known for its religious zeal, notably justifying the beheadings of 12 policemen last June as being the work of "divine violence."