Drug war: 11 headless bodies found by the side of a road in Mexico

"Cruelty and barbarity have shocked Mexico," says the country's president

Eleven partly burned, headless bodies have been found by the side of a road in Mexico as the country’s president launches his new anti-crime push.

The corpses were found early on Thursday near the city of Chilapa in the Guerrero region of the country, an area known for gang violence and opium poppy cultivation.

According to photos from the scene, a handwritten banner was hung near the bodies. It said the dead men had been part of the "Ardillos" gang. "Here is your garbage," it added.

The discovery was made not far from a college where 43 students disappeared in September, allegedly killed and incinerated by a drug gang for working with local police.

The disappearances, which occurred in the town of Iguala, sparked thousands of people to come out onto the street and protest.

Mexico’s president, Enrique Pena Nieto has announced a nation-wide plan to fight back against drug gangs, which have been wreaking violence across the country.

He said his proposals were inspired by the disappearances though they coincided with the latest discovery of the 11 bodies.

“Cruelty and barbarity have shocked Mexico,” he said. "Mexico cannot go on like this. After Iguala, Mexico must change."

The proposals would relax distinctions between local, state and federal crimes. Currently local police sometimes refuse to investigation national crimes such as drug trafficking.

A new national emergency number would also be created, similar to 999 in the United Kingdom or 911 in the United States.

The country’s government would also flood the most seriously affected areas with security forces.

The aim of much of the plan is to bypass corrupt local governments. The mayor of the town in which the 43 students were abducted has been accused by prosecutors of collaborating with local drug gangs, ordering the detention of the students concerned by police before handing them over to the criminals.

The announcement is a change in policy for Mr Pena Nieto, who came to power promising to focus on other issues than the country’s drug gang violence.

Similar anti-crime plans were announced in 2004 and 2008 but failed to stop corruption in the Mexican police.