47,515 have died in Mexico's five year drug war, says the country's Attorney General

Official death count released today by Procuraduría General de la República

Under increasing public pressure for the delivery of drug war specifics, Mexico made it official earlier today: 47,515 people have died in the 61 month old conflict. The disturbing tally did not distinguish between known or suspected members of criminal organizations, security forces and civilians. The government had not released a formal aggregate death count for the drug war, which began in December 2006, since January 2011. Several days ago Milenio news service reported that its calculations showed just under 50,000 persons have been killed, and that estimate appears to have been not far off the mark. The much awaited disclosure is sure to provoke new debate about the wisdom and effectiveness of the highly controversial "National Security Strategy" of president Felipe Calderón, as it's called, all the more so as Mexico prepares to elect a new leader July 1.

Warring cartels and organized crime gangs killed 13,000 in first 9 months of 2011

Mexico's Attorney General also reported today that 12,903 persons were killed in the drug war from Jan. 1-Sept. 30, 2011, most of them due to inter-gang rivalries and disputes. In all of 2010, 15,273 died, according to news sources. The last three months of the year just ended are yet to be reported, but if the steady pace of over 1,400 deaths per month continued through Dec. 31, the 2011 total death count could reach 17,000 or more.

The announcement said that "it remains clear that (such events) are concentrated in several areas of the country. Seventy percent of the deaths associated with organized crime violence occurred in eight regions." In fact, the supporting data leaves little doubt as to the highly localized nature of the drug war. In 2011, four of every 10 deaths occurred in just 17 of Mexico's 2,454 municipalities. Put another way, almost 44% of all victims were killed in only 2.4% of its territory. The most dangerous regions were the northern and northeastern states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Durango, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Guerrero and Veracruz. Chihuahua, on the U.S. border, had 2,289 murders last year.

Areas with particularly severe levels of violence included: Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua state, with 1,206 deaths; Torreón, Coahuila with 476; Durango state with 710; Acapulco in Guerrero state with 795; Monterrey in Nuevo León with 399; Sinaloa state with 1,100; Tamaulipas state with 1,108; Nuevo Laredo with 144; Tijuana with 183; and Veracruz state with 538. Ciudad Juárez, a border town known for narco terror, is often referred to as the most dangerous city in the world. The once famous tourist resorts of Acapulco and Veracruz have been severely impacted by rising cartel violence, and both are the subjects of special security operations commenced last year, under the direction of federal and state forces. The city of Veracruz fired its 1,000 person municipal police department just before Christmas, which officials said was essential to eliminate corruption and infiltration in the ranks by drug cartels. A new local police force is being reconstituted and trained.

Although there were more deaths in 2011 than in 2010, the percentage increase was much lower than in previous reporting periods going back to 2007, said the attorney general's office.

The Mexican government's position is that at least 90% of those killed in the 61 month old conflict were working for drug cartels, or otherwise involved in narcotics trafficking and related organized crime enterprises.

Why the L.A. Times just doesn't get it: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-la-times-just-doesnt-get-it.html.
Five year drug war death toll is 49,969 according to Mexican news source: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/five-year-drug-war-death-toll-is-46969.html