BBC News - Crunching numbers in Mexico's drug conflict - 0 views
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According to the new database, the total number of people killed in the conflict between December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon came into power, and the end of 2010, stands at 34,612.
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Last year was by far the bloodiest since Mr Calderon launched his head-on military confrontation with the cartels, with 15,273 deaths.
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At least 89% of the fatalities are suspected gang members killed in turf wars between the different organisations that compete for control of trafficking routes into the US.
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That one city of less than 1.5 million people was the location for more than 18% of the total number of deaths nationwide in the same period.
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The state is home to Ciudad Juarez - the city across the border from El Paso, Texas - where 6,437 people have lost their lives in drug-related violence since late 2006.
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In 2007, there were 244 drug-related deaths. The same figure for 2010 was of 4,427 victims - it grew by an astonishing 1,800%.
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In fact, 70% of the homicides, the database shows, have taken place in only 85 of the 2,500 municipalities around Mexico.
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Meanwhile, in states like Tlaxcala, only 13 people have been killed in the conflict since 2006; in Yucatan, the total figure is 26.
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At least 12 mayors were killed by alleged gang members in 2010, while in the first two weeks of 2011, two more died in incidents related to the drugs conflict.
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From a list of 37 "wanted" drug barons issued by the government in March 2009, 17 were captured or killed by government forces - including Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the Beltran Leyva cartel, in December 2009 - while two were killed in clashes between criminal groups.
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Security forces have confiscated almost 100,000 weapons from the cartels, while the value of the seized narcotics amounts to more than $10bn (£6.3bn).
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Government security spokesman Alejandro Poire points out that the number of drug-related murders decreased by about 10% in the last quarter of 2010, and officials hope this will become a long-term trend.
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In a recent nationwide survey by the National Statistics Bureau, more than 70% of respondents said they felt the overall security situation had worsened in 2010 compared to the previous year. More than 30% believed the situation would get worse in 2011.
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Meanwhile, 41% admitted they did not feel safe to walk alone between 4pm and 7pm in the area where they lived.
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Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico? Source: Miglierini, Julian. "Crunching Numbers in Mexico's Drug Conflict." BBC News. N.p., 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <>. Summary: This article stated a number of facts that related to the number of killings since 2006 and their continued increase into 2010. The more shocking and accurate death tolls have recently been released, sending the Mexican government and people into more of a crisis than before. Not only have gang members been killed in the war against drug cartel, but civilians, police,and soldiers as well. This fight against drug cartel could possibly have increased the violence instead of diminishing it. The violence is not located all throughout Mexico; it occurs much more densely in certain areas like Ciudad Juarez, which accounts for 18% of the total number of deaths nationwide during a certain time period. Drug barons have been captured or killed, but so have mayors and journalists. The Mexican people do not feel safe; what can the government do about this?