The bodies of 35 people with suspected links to organized crime dumped on a road in the eastern Mexican city of Veracruz. The corpses reportedly of both men and women were discovered near a shopping centre along Mexico's Gulf coast marking a major escalation of violence in the once quiet port city. The Veracruz state prosecutor confirmed the discovery at a press conference Wednesday. STATE PROSECUTOR FOR THE STATE OF VERACRUZ, REYNALDO ESCOBAR: "We have begun the corresponding investigations and have identified some of the bodies and have confirmed that they all had prior criminal records and were involved with organized crime, like kidnapping, extortion, homicide, among other crimes. 　　" Violence between rival drug cartels has been heating up in Veracruz and local media reported that some of the bodies found were from the feared Zetas crime gang. 　　The paramilitary-style group founded by defectors from Mexico's army special forces split off from its former employer, the Gulf Cartel. And the two have since been fighting a battle for lucrative drug-smuggling routes to the United States.