Mexican security forces have found 32 bodies at several locations around the eastern port city of Veracruz, authorities have said.
The find comes barely two weeks after 35 corpses were dumped by the Zetas, a drug gang formed by former paramilitary soldiers, on a busy street in the Atlantic port.
The bodies found yesterday were located in three separate areas of the city, the navy said in a statement.
The bodies were in homes around the port as the military deployed more forces a government crackdown entitled the "Safe Veracruz" program, the statement said. Twenty bodies were found in one house that was searched after a tip from naval intelligence.
More than 44,000 people have died in drug-related violence since president Felipe Calderon launched a military campaign to crush Mexico's powerful drug cartels in late 2006.
The killings have damaged support for Mr Calderon's ruling conservatives, who face a major struggle to hold onto power in presidential elections due next July.
Mr Calderon said there could be no turning back from the fight against the gangs.
Reuters