A severed head accompanied by a note of defiance from organized crime groups was found outside a military barracks in Veracruz on Saturday, a day after authorities said they were sending more troops and police to the state to fight the gangs.
The head was in a box along with two grenades and a note from purported gang members. The body of the victim -- a 37-year-old auto mechanic who had been kidnapped four days earlier -- was found later in another neighborhood in Veracruz city, wrapped in a sheet.
"We are going to continue, even if federal forces are here," state Public Safety Secretary Juan Manuel Orozco quoted the note as saying.
Veracruz Governor Fidel Herrera called the message a "provocation," noting similar notes have been found in other states.
The head appeared after the government announced it was sending troops to Veracruz to respond to an attack that killed four bodyguards assigned to protect the children of a state governor who were vacationing in Veracruz.
The children of Mexico State Governor Enrique Pena were unharmed during Friday's attack.
Victoria Hernandez, spokeswoman for the Veracruz state prosecutor's office, said it appears the gunmen mistook the bodyguards' vehicle for that of a rival gang. Pena also blamed the attack on mistaken identity.
President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 24,000 soldiers and federal police to areas ravaged by violence, much of which is attributed to powerful drug cartels fighting for lucrative smuggling routes into the US.
There have been more than 900 execution-style killings across Mexico since January, including beheadings.
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