MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ecuadoran authorities found eight dismembered bodies on Sunday in mass graves at an illegal mine in the southern province of Azuay, which is under a state of emergency, police said.

The South American country is struggling to contain a wave of violence despite President Daniel Noboa’s hardline stance against organized crime, with gangs fighting over international cocaine trafficking routes and mining deposits.

Authorities found the bodies in two mass graves in the municipality of Pucara, where illegal gold and copper mining operations have expanded in recent years as the Los Lobos gang exerted control.

The bodies were “buried at roughly two meters deep,” had their hands tied and showed “injuries such as dismemberment and decapitation” inflicted with a machete, head of the local judicial police Pablo Inga told the media.

Preliminary analysis showed the bodies had been buried for around two days. Their identities have yet to be confirmed.

The mine did not have operating permits, police said, and officers reached the remote area after receiving reports of gunfire.

Several residents reported that their relatives were missing.

Ecuador has gone from being one of South America’s safest countries to a cocaine trafficking hub in a few short years, plagued by gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels.

Eight dismembered bodies found in illegal mine