Gang leader with ties to El Chapo's sons among 7 killed in Mexican border town - with bloodshed continuing across the country as five bloody bodies were found piled inside abandoned SUV in western Mexico

A high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel leader and six other men were killed and then dumped on a road near Mexico's border with Arizona, the government said Wednesday.

The killings were just part of the deaths along the border in recent days with another five people killed and left in an abandoned SUV in another part of Mexico. 

Sinaloa Cartel leader Samuel Ibarra, 48, and his henchmen, who are linked to the sons of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán, were shot dead during a gun battle in San Luis Río Colorado, a municipality in the state of Sonora.

The shootout took place after Los Rusos, allied with the Sinaloa Cartel division led by co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada,' led a convoy of armed fighters into the city Monday.

Surveillance video cameras captured the moment SUV and pick truck carrying Los Rusos gunmen arrived to hunt down Ibarra.

Bloodshed continued along the Mexican border with five people found dead in an SUV. In another part of the country, Sinaloa Cartel leader Samuel Ibarra and his henchmen were gunned down

Samuel Ibarra, who oversaw a Sinaloa Cartel drug turf that is controlled by El Chapo's sons in the northwestern city of San Luis Río Colorado, was killed Tuesday in a shootout 

Images of Ibarra lying dead on the road pavement were spread on social media Tuesday before the Sonora State Attorney General's Office confirmed his death Wednesday.

Ibarra was dressed in military-like gear and was carrying a two-way radio and gun ammunition.

'The deceased, all male, were injured by gunshots, wearing tactical clothes and footwear,' the Sonora State Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

Sonora Attorney General Franciso Méndez said at least 12 people were arrested and seven vehicles were confiscated as part of the investigation.

Ibarra, according to Mexican media reports, oversaw a Sinaloa Cartel drug turf in San Luis Río Colorado that is under the control of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's sons, who are known as Los Chapitos.

Ibarra and his son, JesúsSa Ibarra, who was captured by authorities in July 2023, operated out of Mexicali, Baja California, until 2021 when they refused to join forces with Los Rusos after Zambada assumed control of Mexicali.

The dead bodies of five people were found inside a bulletproof SUV in Michoacán on Tuesday

Ibarra and his son fled to San Luis Río Colorado and joined Los Chapitos, who assigned them the responsibility of overseeing the drug trafficking route via de Gulf of Santa Clara.

In an isolated incident, Mexican authorities in the western state of Michoacán found five dead bodies inside a bulletproof SUV.

The vehicle was abandoned on the side of a road in Villa de Corona, south Guadalajara, the state capital.

The Michoacán State Attorney General's Office made the discovery after someone called 911 to report the vehicle Tuesday. The five bodies had 'visible signs of violence.'