Between January and September of 2011, 13,000 deaths were reported and blamed on organized crimes. This gave the Mexican drug war deaths a total of 47,515 over the past five years. The death toll has reportedly gone up since President Felipe Calderon commenced his crackdown on drug traffickers in 2006, but the rise is slow in comparison to other years.
Death figures were released on Wednesday by the Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR). 12,903 people were killed in the first nine months of 2011 due to drug related violence. PGR says that the 11% rise is deaths have been “a significant decrease” from previous years. In 2007-2008, there was a 110% hike. In 2008-2009, murders jumped 63%, and 2009-2012, they saw a 70% rise. The government emphasizes that Mexico’s murder rate is lower than several other nations and improvements in security are taking place in areas such as Tijuana.
