"The Economist" Map of Mexican Drug Violence, 2008-2010

The Economist has recently added "Deaths Related to Organized Crime" for the years 2008 through 2010 to it a map that shows Mexican drug trafficking routes and Cartel areas.  The map is made of a compilation of data from Texas-based STRATFOR Geopolitical Think Tank, and the Mexican Government's Official Statistics.  


The Mexican Drug War has been raging since atleast 2006 as the Calderon government declared war on the Cartels, and new groups emerged that challenged the established balance of power amongst the five original cartels. However, unlike Colombia's previous drug war that engulfed the entire country, the Economist article shows that Mexico's war is highly concentrated: in 2010, 70% of deaths occurred in 3% of the municipalities. 


The new map shows that drug-related deaths are highest in the state of Chihuahua, which contains the border town Ciudad Juarez near  El Paso, Texas. This is an area much coveted by drug traffickers and is a main trafficking route for all types of illicit drugs: methamphetamine, marijuana, ephedra, and cocaine. This state has had the most deaths over this time period, with 4,427 reported and recorded  homicides in 2010, up from 3,345 in 2009. It is predominantly under the control of the Sinaloa Federation Cartel, although this hegemony has been challenged with the emergence of the Carrillo Fuentes organization in the border areas.  


Another state experiencing growing levels of violence is Tamaulipas. In 2008, the state had 96 homicides, but in 2010 there were 1209, an increase of a factor of twelve and a half. It is a main transshipment point for cocaine from Colombia, and is near the Reynosa and Nuevo Loreda border crossings with Texas. Here, competition between Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel has caused the violence. 

From www.davegranlund.com/cartoons/

The drug war has been a source of tension between Mexico and its Northern Neighbour. Mexican President Felipe Calderon accused the US of not doing enough to reduce demand for drugs in their own country, which many Latin American's view as the primary cause of their struggle against international drug trafficking cartels. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called for international cooperation in the war on drugs in response to California's referendum on the legalization of Marijuana  US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton caused further offensewhen she compared their country to Colombia of the 1980s and 1990s.  President Obama was then forced to restate the America position, saying that the comparison between Mexico and Colombia was unfair, since today "Mexico is vast and progressive democracy, with a growing economy". 

While both of these claims are of course debatable, the Americans have entered into a substantial bilateral agreement with Mexico aimed at fighting the Drug Cartels called the Merida Initiative. The Americans will provide money and training to reinforce the rule of law and bolster the Mexican police force, their judiciary system as well as expunging the systemic and pervasive corruption of the Mexican security and law enforcement apparatus.