Seven killings in just one day. There were 12 more in just four days. That’s life – and death – in the cartel-controlled state of Sinaloa, Mexico. It is just the latest gangland violence there that has transformed this locale into a shooting gallery.

The Sinaloa prosecutor's office can barely keep up with the murders but on Friday said the latest group of bodies were all found in different locations. Two people were found dead in the capital of Culiacan, and five in the municipality of Concordia – both sites are known as places "where violent events have occurred between criminal groups," according to Reuters.

Sinaloa, on the Pacific Coast, is the headquarters of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, an organized crime unit that deals in murder and every kind of trafficking. It was once headed by the infamous Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is now living rent-free in a US prison. When police arrested another noted cartel figure, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, in July, anticipation grew over the inevitable turf war.

Soon the kidnappings, assassinations and counter-assassinations began. In Culiacan, the town looks deserted because businesses have all shut their doors and public transport runs very infrequently. Even Mexico’s Independence day has been canceled.

The Sinaloa cartel has been using drones to drop bombs near the Arizona border to attack a rival gang while a drug kingpin connected to the Sinaloa cartel was recently arrested in Oregon. Mexican drug cartels, long identified for their iron grip on the drug trade and human trafficking, have invaded every sector of the Mexican economy.