Mexico's Drug War Responsible for 28,000 Deaths in Four Years

Mexican President, Filipe Calderon

The Mexican government said yesterday that more than 28,000 people have been killed in drug violence since Mexican president, Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels in 2006. This staggering statistic moved the president yesterday to publicly say that he would consider a debate on legalizing drugs. Guillermo Valdes, the head of the country’s intelligence agency said authorities have seized $411 million in US currency and almost 84,000 weapons during the last four years. The president met this week with representatives of business and civic groups to discuss ways to improve Mexico’s drug control strategy.

Calderon’s administration has taken a hard stance on drug control in the past but has become battle-weary leading to an openness to explore new approaches in Mexico’s drug war. Calderon called the idea of legally regulating drugs a fundamental debate. The former presidents of Columbia, Brazil and Former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo urged Latin American countries to consider legalizing marijuana as a way to undermine drug cartel profits, but Calderon has long said he is opposed to legalizing. Even though his comments showed a new acknowledgement of the costs of prohibition, his office quickly issued a statement last night, hours after the conference saying the President remains against the legalization of drugs, but clarifying that he is open to debate on the issue.

The Mexican government does not regularly break down murder statistics, but Mexican newspapers that cover the stories have been keeping their own count, and concur that last month was the deadliest yet under President Calderon. 1,234 people were killed in July due to drug violence. To soften the numbers, the Mexican government is quick to point out that most victims were involved in the drug trade.

Some of the attendees to the meeting criticized the government for not keeping statistics as a way to gauge the effectiveness of Calderon’s drug strategy, and said the government doesn’t do enough to combat the financial arm of organized drug crimes. As the drug cartels ramp up the violence, journalists have been caught in the crossfire. Since December of 2006 at least 30 journalists in Mexico have been killed or have disappeared and bombs and gunfire attacks on the offices of news organizations have lead to a rampant problem of self-censorship in the media. Just last week four journalists were kidnapped after reporting on a prison riot that began between two Mexican gangs. By Saturday, Mexican federal police has rescued two of the kidnapped journalists who reported being terrorized, beaten and threatened with death. A change in policy is long overdue.