Monique Ross
A bloody war that has exploded between rival drug cartels in Mexico made international headlines this month after the gruesome discovery of 23 bodies in a border city.
Fourteen headless bodies were found in a car in the city of Nuevo Laredo, while another nine were found hanging from a bridge.
The conflict centres on the rivalry between the Gulf, Los Zetas and Sinaloa cartels, all of whom want to control the lucrative smuggling route between South America and the cities of the United States.
The trade is worth between $19 billion and $29 billion a year,according to the FBI, and has resulted in the deaths of at least 50,000 people since 2006.
And the violence is escalating. According to a Wall Street Journal report, 22,000 people have been killed since 2010 – that is one death every 35 minutes.
How much do you know about the three main cartels at the centre of the turf war?
The Gulf cartel
The Los Zetas cartel
The Sinaloa cartel
Gulf cartel
The Gulf cartel is perhaps the oldest organised crime group in Mexico and is known for intimidating local civilians.
Former allies of the Zetas, the Gulf cartel are now believed to be allied to the Sinaloa cartel.
Its founder Juan Guerra - considered to be the "godfather" of the cartel - allegedly smuggled alcohol into the US in the 1930s.
After the end of the Prohibition, Guerra, widely known as Don Juan, turned his focus to drug smuggling.
In the 1970s the command shifted to Guerra's nephew, Juan Garcia Abrego. He lead the lucrative business until his arrest and extradition to the US in 1996.
After a series of internal battles Osiel Cardenas took over. As his cartel grew, he created Los Zetas, a new armed wing made up of military defectors.
The two groups were collectively known as The Company.
Los Zetas was designed to protect the Gulf from the Sinaloa cartel, but would eventually turn against its creator.
In 2004 Cardenas was arrested. Sensing weakness in the Gulf cartel, rival gang Sinaloa tried to move in on the Gulf stronghold of Nuevo Laredo.
In 2005 hundreds of extra police were sent in to try and quell the conflict, which killed thousands of people.
Among the dead was Manuel Farfan, who stepped into the role of police chief and was fatally shot just hours after he was sworn in.
The Gulf cartel emerged victorious from the battles.
It is now headed by Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, nicknamed El Coss. Two factions within the cartel are believed to be fighting for full control.
Los Zetas cartel
Los Zetas is now the largest drug cartel in Mexico. The group takes its name from the radio code used for top-level Mexican army officers.
It was set up in the 1990s by former elite Mexican soldiers, who were then aligned with the Gulf.
Among them was Heriberto Lazcano - known as The Executioner - who now heads up the organisation.
After the battle in Nuevo Laredo, the Los Zetas began to grow independently from the Gulf.
The Zetas and Gulf finally broke their alliance in 2010, giving new life to the gang violence that has hit the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas hard.
According to a report in The Economist magazine, the rate of drug-related murders in Nuevo Leon region increased by 193 per cent from 2010 to 2011.
The gang now aligns itself with the Tijuana, Juarez and Beltran-Leyva cartels.
Along with drugs, the Zetas are involved in kidnapping, extortion, assault and racketeering. The cartel is known for its gruesome executions of its rivals, as well as its bomb attacks.
Sinaloa cartel
Once known as the Blood Alliance, the Sinaloa cartel is considered as one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world.
In 2010 the ABC's Tim Palmer revealed the Sinaloa syndicate is behind many of the shipments of cocaine to Australia.
A source told Palmer the cartel has had operatives in Australia for several years.
The cartel is associated with the label "Golden Triangle", which refers to the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua - regions that produce Mexican opium and marijuana.
It relies on high-level connections and corrupt officials to get the upper hand on rivals. As InSight Crime notes, an official can "double or triple his salary by simply agreeing to look the other way".
It was formed in the 1960s by Pedro Aviles Perez - considered to be the father of large-scale drug trafficking in Mexico and the pioneer of the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the US.
He was killed by police during a shootout in 1978.
His nephew, Joaquin Guzman, currently leads the main Sinaloa group from an unknown location.
Nicknamed "El Chapo" or "Shorty", he was jailed in 1993 but escaped prison in 2001 and resumed control of the cartel.
He is still at large, and is Mexico's most wanted man.
The US has frozen the American assets held by his two sons, Ivan and Ovido Guzman, who are believed to play a significant role in the cartel.
Another of Perez's nephews leads the Tijuana cartel.
A bloody war that has exploded between rival drug cartels in Mexico made international headlines this month after the gruesome discovery of 23 bodies in a border city.
Fourteen headless bodies were found in a car in the city of Nuevo Laredo, while another nine were found hanging from a bridge.
The conflict centres on the rivalry between the Gulf, Los Zetas and Sinaloa cartels, all of whom want to control the lucrative smuggling route between South America and the cities of the United States.
The trade is worth between $19 billion and $29 billion a year,according to the FBI, and has resulted in the deaths of at least 50,000 people since 2006.
And the violence is escalating. According to a Wall Street Journal report, 22,000 people have been killed since 2010 – that is one death every 35 minutes.
How much do you know about the three main cartels at the centre of the turf war?
The Gulf cartel
The Los Zetas cartel
The Sinaloa cartel
Gulf cartel
The Gulf cartel is perhaps the oldest organised crime group in Mexico and is known for intimidating local civilians.
Former allies of the Zetas, the Gulf cartel are now believed to be allied to the Sinaloa cartel.
Its founder Juan Guerra - considered to be the "godfather" of the cartel - allegedly smuggled alcohol into the US in the 1930s.
After the end of the Prohibition, Guerra, widely known as Don Juan, turned his focus to drug smuggling.
In the 1970s the command shifted to Guerra's nephew, Juan Garcia Abrego. He lead the lucrative business until his arrest and extradition to the US in 1996.
After a series of internal battles Osiel Cardenas took over. As his cartel grew, he created Los Zetas, a new armed wing made up of military defectors.
The two groups were collectively known as The Company.
Los Zetas was designed to protect the Gulf from the Sinaloa cartel, but would eventually turn against its creator.
In 2004 Cardenas was arrested. Sensing weakness in the Gulf cartel, rival gang Sinaloa tried to move in on the Gulf stronghold of Nuevo Laredo.
In 2005 hundreds of extra police were sent in to try and quell the conflict, which killed thousands of people.
Among the dead was Manuel Farfan, who stepped into the role of police chief and was fatally shot just hours after he was sworn in.
The Gulf cartel emerged victorious from the battles.
It is now headed by Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, nicknamed El Coss. Two factions within the cartel are believed to be fighting for full control.
Los Zetas cartel
Los Zetas is now the largest drug cartel in Mexico. The group takes its name from the radio code used for top-level Mexican army officers.
It was set up in the 1990s by former elite Mexican soldiers, who were then aligned with the Gulf.
Among them was Heriberto Lazcano - known as The Executioner - who now heads up the organisation.
After the battle in Nuevo Laredo, the Los Zetas began to grow independently from the Gulf.
The Zetas and Gulf finally broke their alliance in 2010, giving new life to the gang violence that has hit the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas hard.
According to a report in The Economist magazine, the rate of drug-related murders in Nuevo Leon region increased by 193 per cent from 2010 to 2011.
The gang now aligns itself with the Tijuana, Juarez and Beltran-Leyva cartels.
Along with drugs, the Zetas are involved in kidnapping, extortion, assault and racketeering. The cartel is known for its gruesome executions of its rivals, as well as its bomb attacks.
Sinaloa cartel
Once known as the Blood Alliance, the Sinaloa cartel is considered as one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world.
In 2010 the ABC's Tim Palmer revealed the Sinaloa syndicate is behind many of the shipments of cocaine to Australia.
A source told Palmer the cartel has had operatives in Australia for several years.
The cartel is associated with the label "Golden Triangle", which refers to the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua - regions that produce Mexican opium and marijuana.
It relies on high-level connections and corrupt officials to get the upper hand on rivals. As InSight Crime notes, an official can "double or triple his salary by simply agreeing to look the other way".
It was formed in the 1960s by Pedro Aviles Perez - considered to be the father of large-scale drug trafficking in Mexico and the pioneer of the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the US.
He was killed by police during a shootout in 1978.
His nephew, Joaquin Guzman, currently leads the main Sinaloa group from an unknown location.
Nicknamed "El Chapo" or "Shorty", he was jailed in 1993 but escaped prison in 2001 and resumed control of the cartel.
He is still at large, and is Mexico's most wanted man.
The US has frozen the American assets held by his two sons, Ivan and Ovido Guzman, who are believed to play a significant role in the cartel.
Another of Perez's nephews leads the Tijuana cartel.
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