Disturbing videos of several men being beaten in the northern Sonora city of Caborca have been getting a lot of attention in Mexico.

In one of two graphic videos, a man is attacked in broad daylight by armed men, who use their guns and a huge piece of wood to beat the man to the ground, where he groans and gasps in pain. Many saw the videos as evidence of an extortion racket gone violent.

"No, no, no, absolutely not," Sonoran Gov. Alfonso Durazo said, vigorously denying that theory. "It has nothing to do with extortion."

He did acknowledge that the videos show disturbing criminal behavior that is being investigated.

Also this week, the Sonoran attorney general released a statement saying they had identified suspects in the cases.