4:3 SEVEN KILLED IN LATEST VIOLENCE BETWEEN RIVAL DRUG GANGS

(6 Jun 2012) STORY Mexican police have found seven dismembered bodies in a Pacific coast state where the country's most-wanted man is battling its most aggressive drug cartel. The Attorney General's Office says the bodies were found early on Tuesday in Sinaloa along with a message accusing authorities of cooperating with drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Guzman is head of the Sinaloa cartel, and the letter's wording suggests it may have been written by the Zetas cartel. The Zetas are considered a brutal paramilitary-style cartel founded by defectors from the Mexican army special forces and known for its gruesome butchery of opponents. They have launched tit-for-tat attacks on Sinaloa strongholds since Sinaloa cartel gunmen and their allies moved in on Zetas turf in the Gulf coast states of Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Last week, suspected Zetas took the unusual step of using an airplane to drop thousands of leaflets accusing Sinaloa's governor of taking orders from Guzman. Drug violence has killed more than 47,500 people in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a stepped-up offensive when he took office in December 2006. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...