Over 12,000 people in Mexico died in 2011 due to drugs
MEXICO CITY — About 12,000 people were slain last year in Mexico’s surging drug violence, according to grim tallies reported Monday by the country’s leading media outlets. Annual indexes of torture, beheadings and the killing of women all showed increases. More than 50,000 people have been killed during President Felipe Calderon’s U.S.-backed military confrontation with organized crime and drug trafficking, which began in 2006. The Calderon government, after promising to update figures regularly, has not reported its own death count, perhaps because the trend line does not look good. A government spokesman said new figures would be released later this month. The ruling party is facing national elections this summer, in which the main opposition party threatens to retake the presidency. The daily newspaper Reforma, one of the nation’s most respected independent news outlets, reported 12,359 drug-related killings in 2011, a 6.3 percent increase compared with the previous year. There were 2,275 drug killings in 2007, Reforma said. Other media reported similar numbers. Daily Milenio recorded 12,284 drug-related deaths last year. La Jornada counted 11,890 deaths in 2011, which it says is an 11 percent decrease from the previous year. Regardless, in its annual tally La Jornada featured a cartoon that showed Father Time 2011 lying in the desert with his head chopped off. In the Reforma count, the number of bodies that showed signs of torture grew to 1,079. Beheadings reached almost 600, up from 389 the year before. Reforma also found that women increasingly were victims of drug violence, with more than 900 slain last year. The newspaper did not offer a count of juveniles or children killed, but children increasingly have been caught in the crossfire or intentionally targeted to send a chilling message that the drug gangs will stop at nothing. One of the few bright spots is that the homicide rate appears to be down by about a third in the border manufacturing hub Ciudad Juarez, once dubbed Murder City. Baja California and Tijuana also saw decreases in homicides. Yet the violence has steadily spread across Mexico. The states that abut Texas — Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas — remain the most deadly. But new zones of conflict, such as the once-mellow gulf coast state of Veracruz, are now gripped by a wave of killing.
Rate this article
Breaking News
Bill To End Indefinite Detention Voted Against
A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives ... Full story
Arrest made in Miss. highway killings
By the CNN Wire Staff updated 9:25 AM EDT, Fri May 18, 2012 Suspect James D. Willie, 28, of Sardis, Mississippi, was arrested Tuesday on an unrelated ...
Jurors to get John Edwards case
STORY HIGHLIGHTS John Edwards is charged with falsifying documents, taking illegal contributions, conspiracy He broke the law by taking big donations to hide his mistress, prosecutors say Just ...
Van Halen postpones summer tour
By Ed Payne, CNN updated 4:52 AM EDT, Fri May 18, 2012 David Lee Roth walks offstage with the rest of the band (L-R) Alex Van Halen, ...
McCoy agrees to five-year extension with Eagles
LeSean McCoy set Eagles records last season with 17 rushing touchdowns and 20 total scores. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- LeSean McCoy ran his way onto ...
Flesh-eating infections: Scores per year
The necrotizing fasciitis cases of Lana Kuykendall, left, and especially Aimee Copeland have garnered unusual media attention. STORY HIGHLIGHTS "Oh, how tragic, another case!" says co-founder of ...
Horses beaten, 'sored' to win shows
An undercover investigation led to charges against Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell and three associates. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Defense attorney has no comment on specific charges against ...
Attorney says no charges against Bears' Marshall
NEW YORK (AP) -- The lawyer for Brandon Marshall says no charges will be brought against the Chicago Bears wide receiver for an altercation outside ...
Reports: Jets' Ellis to plea guilty to misdemeanor
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -- New York Jets defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis reportedly has reached a plea agreement in a Virginia court that will reduce ...
Michael McCann: Vilma v. Goodell is more than just a defamation lawsuit
In a report, commissioner Roger Goodell alleged that Jonathan Vilma "offered $10,000 cash to any player who knocked [opposing QB Brett] Favre out of the ...



Post your comment