Two severed heads were found in a cooler just two blocks from the popular tourist district of Cabo San Lucas on Monday. The gruesome discovery came just one day after authorities found two dismembered bodies in another cooler.

The deaths have been attributed to the ongoing wave of violence due to criminal gangs in Mexico. According to a Mexico Travel Warning posted on the U.S. State Department website, Baja California Sur, where Cabo San Lucas is located, has been seeing a high rate of homicide and “ongoing public acts of violence between rival criminal organizations.”

These recent murders come on the heels of the discovery of a mass grave near the Cabo Pulmo nature reserve near the resort of San Jose del Cabo, reported Fox News. On Sunday, Mexican authorities said the number of bodies excavated from the grave is now 18 — five women and thirteen men. 

The Northern section of Baja California Sur has seen an increase in homicides due to turf battles between rival gangs such as the Sinaloa drug cartel led by the notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán who is known for his brazen tunnel escape from prison in 2015.

Guzmán was extradited to the United States earlier this year and faces charges related to his criminal organization including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, firearms violations and money laundering according to CNN.

CNN reports that at least 80,000 people have been killed in Mexico due to organized crime related incidents since 2006.

According to Cabo travel website, itravel-cabo.com, the area remains a popular tourist destination with over 300,000 foreign visitors in March. While cartel-related violence has increased, so has security in the tourist areas.

“We have an obligation to let visitors know the situation. But recent events must be seen in context. With two exceptions, the violence and shootings have not been anywhere near the tourist areas,” Director of Los Cabos Tourism Board, Rodrigo Esponda, told the site

Photo: Associated Press