War in Mexico

In Mexico City, President Felipe Calderon said he would consider a debate on legalizing drugs Tuesday as his government announced that more than 28,000 people have been killed in drug violence since he launched a crackdown against cartels in 2006 but the attorney general said there was “only” 24,800 reported dead (as if there was a huge difference). If my math is correct, that’s between 6,2000-7,000 bodies a year. Authorities have confiscated over 84,000 weapons and about $411mil in US currency and $26mil in pesos. According to national daily Milenio, 1,234 were killed in just July alone, that’s 247 people a week. In addition to the drug wars, gruesome murders appear to be a commonplace. The severed heads of eight men found in pairs along highways in Durango . Seventeen people massacred at a birthday party in Torreon . The bodies of 55 people found dumped in a mine near the town of Taxco . The statistics show that the most deadly violence is happening in northern Mexico close to the U.S. border where smuggling occurs, and in the states where marijuana and heroin are produced. The statistics also do not take into account extortion, robbery or other offenses. Some anti-crime groups say Mexico City is No. 1 in the world in kidnappings for ransoms or cash that a victim is forced to withdraw from ATMs