Mexico drug war has claimed 47,500 victims in five years (And we thought Iraq was the worst)

The Telegraph ^ | 01/12/2012

[SeekAndFind]

The figures came as two decapitated bodies were found inside a burning SUV early on Wednesday at the entrance of one of Mexico's most luxurious malls, feeding fears the drug violence is beginning to infiltrate privileged realms previously thought safe.

Police recovered the mutilated bodies before dawn off a toll highway at a shopping mall entrance in the heart of the Santa Fe district that is a haven for international corporations, diplomats and the wealthy. The heads and a threatening message were dumped a few yards away, Mexico City prosecutors said in a statement.

Hours later, the government released the drug war body count figures.

Local media published images of the charred car and reported that a note written on hot pink paper was signed by the drug gang Mano con Ojos, or Hand with Eyes. Mexican police had said the gang was weakened by the arrest of its leader, Oscar Osvaldo Garcia, in August.

The victims, a man and a woman in their 30s, had not been identified, prosecutors said. They said the SUV with license plates from neighbouring Mexico state had been stolen.

Nationwide, 47,515 drug-related killings occurred from December 2006, when President Felipe Calderón deployed thousands of troops to drug hot spots, through September 2011, the Attorney General's Office said Wednesday.

Drug-related killings rose 11 per cent in the first nine months of 2011, when 12,903 people were killed, compared to 11,583 in the same period of 2010, the office said.

The figures indicate that three-quarters of all homicides in Mexico are now linked to the drug war.

[SeekAndFind]

For those who want to find a sliver of good news...

The Attorney General’s Office found one small consolation: “It’s the first year (since 2006) that the homicide rate increase has been lower compared to the previous years.”

[Blackyce]

There’s no way they’re going to be able to control the flow of drugs through their country without controlling the border. They can fight black market thugs head to head for the rest of eternity, but as long as a there’s a porous border and a demand for illegal goods, there are going to be black market suppliers policing their interests with thugs. You kill half of them, the other half will just get richer and smarter. You have to change the game, not play the game better than them. The government has spent the last five years slaughtering and being slaughtered by middle men. They whine about drugs flowing north, they whine about guns flowing south and they throw a hissy fit about even modest attempts at border control. They’re either going to have to work with us eventually, or they’re going to have to legalize the drug market. I’m betting they give in to the drug lords.

[Ken H]

I’m betting they give in to the drug lords.

I agree. They're going to keep up the failed drug war until they run out of OPM*.

*Other People's Money