On Tuesday morning, two gruesomely mutilated bodies were discovered in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo, hanging from a pedestrian bridge. Next to the bodies were signs, one of which read "This will happen to all the internet snitches. Be warned, we've got our eye on you. Signed, Z "

Based on the "signs of torture"—the woman was disemboweled, "her intestines protruding from three deep cuts on her abdomen," while the man's shoulder was "severed so deeply the bone was visible"—which are consistent with drug-related violence, it seems likely that a drug cartel (possibly the Zetas) was responsible for the violence. And the reason appears to posts the murdered pair made on Frontera Al Rojo Vivo, a message board on which people can "inform... and denounce cartel activity." CNN writes:

The gruesome scene sent a chilling message at a time when online posts have become some of the loudest voices reporting violence in Mexico. In some parts of the country, threats from cartels have silenced traditional media. Sometimes even local authorities fear speaking out.

[...]

The placards threatened those who report violent incidents through social media networks. It listed two blogs by name, Al Rojo Vivo and Blog del Narco.

It's not the first time internet reporting on drug violence has come into play in Mexico (bloggers have been threatened), but CNN writes that it "could be the first time users of such social networks have been targeted." More than 34,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico in the last five years.

[Borderland Beat; CNN via commenter ludditesque;image of police in Nuevo Laredo via AP]