Story highlights

The bodies are found in a pickup truck abandoned near a highway

Security forces have increased patrols in the area, authorities say

Turf battles between rival cartels have become common in the area

Mexico City CNN  — 

Authorities in northeastern Mexico were investigating Tuesday after finding 14 bodies left inside an abandoned truck in a remote area.

The bodies were discovered in a pickup truck near a highway along the border of Tamaulipas and Veracruz states Monday night, Veracruz state prosecutors said in a statement. Investigators finished removing the bodies from the area Tuesday morning, prosecutors said.

Security forces increased patrols in the area after the discovery.

Turf battles between the rival cartels have become common in the region.

In September 2011, police in the Gulf coast of Veracruz state found two abandoned trucks containing 35 bodies on a busy roadway during rush-hour in the city of Boca del Rio.

Last month, Mexico’s interior minister said the Zetas drug cartel and members of the allied Gulf and Sinaloa cartels were in a fierce feud in northern Mexico. He blamed the battle between rival cartels for the 49 decapitated and dismembered bodies left along a highway in the northern city of Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon.

More than 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence throughout the country since December 2006, when Calderon announced plans to deploy troops in efforts to combat cartels.

CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.