Drug wars heat up in Mexico

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SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Mexican authorities said multiple gangland shootings have destroyed the relative calm in the north following the country's July 1 presidential election.

Prosecutor Miguel Angel Garcia of San Luis Potosi said the surge in violence appears to be the result of a growing feud between factions of the Zetas criminal gang based in Nuevo Laredo and other cities bordering south Texas, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

"The state government is on maximum alert," Garcia told a news conference. He said he has called for federal reinforcements.

Gunmen killed eight people early Tuesday in an attack at a downtown Monterrey strip club.

The incident followed the execution-style slaying of the mayor-elect of Matehuala, Edgar Morales Perez.

Perez, 39, was gunned down along with his campaign manager as they left a family gathering early Sunday.

Authorities Friday found 21 bodies inside a sport utility vehicle that was left outside San Luis Potosi, the capital of the state of the same name.