( CNN ) -- The 49 decapitated bodies authorities found on a roadside in northern Mexico over the weekend were likely the result of a fierce feud between rival drug cartels , a top Mexican official said Monday . `` In recent weeks , we have had a series of inhuman and despicable acts in different parts of the country that mark an irrational fight fundamentally between two existing criminal groups and their criminal allies , '' Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire said . There are `` clear indications , '' he said , that a recent surge in violent acts -- including the mutilated remains found Sunday in Nuevo Leon state -- stem from a `` direct conflict '' between the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartels over territory and power . Poire stressed that the Mexican government would not retreat from its efforts to crack down on organized crime , which is facing increasing criticism as Mexico 's presidential campaign season heats up . `` I know very well that these acts worry society , but the solution is not to let our guard down , '' Poire said . President Felipe Calderon , seen as the chief champion of Mexico 's crime-fighting strategy , is not running for re-election . But opposition candidates have criticized his administration 's approach . More than 47,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006 , when Calderon announced plans to deploy troops in efforts to combat cartels . On Sunday , it appeared that authorities would be adding at least 49 more people to that tally , after decapitated and dismembered bodies were found along a highway in the municipality of Cadereyta Jimenez , near the industrial city of Monterrey and about 80 miles southwest of the U.S. border . A message written on a wall nearby appeared to refer to the Zetas drug cartel . The Zetas started with deserters from the Mexican army and quickly gained a reputation for ruthless violence as the armed branch of Mexico 's Gulf cartel . The partnership ended in 2010 . Now , analysts say the Gulf cartel is allied with the Sinaloa cartel , one of the nation 's most powerful drug-trafficking groups . Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin `` El Chapo '' Guzman Loera is widely known as Mexico 's most wanted fugitive . Forbes magazine has placed him on its list of the world 's most powerful people , reporting his net worth is $ 1 billion as of March . Authorities are still working to identify the victims whose bodies were found Sunday , Poire said . State officials said Sunday they had not ruled out the possibility that the victims could be Central American immigrants or residents of another state , telling reporters Sunday that there had not been many local missing persons reports in recent days . But the area has become a battleground for a brutal conflict between the Zetas and the Gulf cartel , and reports of forced disappearances have become increasingly common in recent years . So have claims that local police , with lower salaries that authorities say make them easier to corrupt than federal troops , have been infiltrated and influenced by cartels . Last week , a retired military general arrived to take over Cadereyta Jimenez 's depleted police force . At least five municipal employees were slain there last month , the state-run Notimex news agency reported . Federal forces have stepped up security in Nuevo Leon and the neighboring state of Tamaulipas since November 2010 . The states are among Mexico 's most violent , according to government statistics . In Monterrey , Nuevo Leon 's capital , nearly 400 deaths in 2011 were connected to organized crime -- more than three times the number of people slain in drug-related violence there in 2010 . Among the most high-profile violence in the region was an attack on a casino in Monterrey last August that left 52 people dead . Authorities have said members of the Zetas cartel were behind that attack . CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet , journalist Victor Badillo and CNNMexico.com contributed to this report .
Interior minister : Violence is related to fighting between the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel . `` We have had a series of inhuman and despicable acts , '' Alejandro Poire says . Poire : Mexico will not retreat from its efforts to crack down on organized crime . His comments come after 49 decapitated bodies are found in northern Mexico .