Puerto Rican authorities are investigating the killings of five men whose naked and tortured bodies were left in public areas in a rare scene for the US territory battling drug trafficking.

Three of the bodies were found piled up near a church in the northern city of Carolina, just east of the capital, San Juan, on Tuesday. Two of the three victims were identified overnight.

Police found two other bodies on Tuesday in Santurce, a San Juan neighbourhood. One of those victims was identified as an 18-year-old man.

Police have said all five bodies present similar markings.

"It's probably related to drug trafficking, but we're not going to dismiss other angles," Police Superintendent Joseph González told El Nuevo Día newspaper.

Puerto Rico has long been considered a transit rou

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