Guadalajara -
Mexico's Secretary of Government (SEGOB), Secretary of Defense and several other federal agencies have issued a joint report on drug war deaths and narcotics seizures for the period Jan. 1-Jan.31, 2013. The report was released Friday.
The death toll will be of the most interest to those following the now 74 month old conflict. SEGOB said 1,104 people were killed nationwide in January, of whom 1,068 were criminals, 30 were police officers or military personnel and six were civilians "caught in the crossfire" of battle. That number yields an average of 34.45 drug war deaths for every day of the month.
Mexico has long contended that 90% or more of those who have been killed in the drug war were on the wrong side of the law when they died. Opponents have alleged far more civilian deaths, generally offering little more than anecdotal evidence. The latest data will do nothing to end the ongoing debate.
The report of just over eleven hundred dead was slightly higher than a Milenio analysis three days ago. The network, which closely monitors the drug war, reported Thursday that 957 persons had died in January, a dozen less than in December (Drug war tally at day 70 of new Peña Nieto administration is 2,097, with slight improvement in January). But the PRI government took credit for somewhat better performance, saying casualties dropped by 35 compared to the month before, Enrique Peña Nieto's first one in office.
According to SEGOB, total drug war deaths in the first two months of the Peña Nieto administration (Dec. 1-Jan. 31) were 2,243.
Neither the new PRI administration (nor the former PAN government of Felipe Calderón) released an estimate of drug war casualties in 2012, but most press sources report at least 12,000 people died.
Other January 2013 drug war stats:
Persons arrested and presented to federal and state judicial authorities for prosecution: 809
Drug seizures (cocaine and marijuana): 69,025 kilos [1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.]
Drugs eradicated: 201 hectares of marijuana, 795 hectares of poppy [1 hectare = 2.47 acres]
$773,500 Mexican pesos seized ($60,663 USD)
$37,659 in U.S. currency seized
940 vehicles and 146,773 liters of fuel seized
1,234 firearms and 137,227 rounds of ammunition seized
Jan. 4 - Mexico's new government reports many arrests and seizures in its first month
Nov. 30 - Milenio news network claims nearly 59,000 died on Calderón's watch
Jan. 11, 2012 - 47,515 have died in Mexico's five year drug war, says the country's Attorney General
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