Mexico under siege

Nearly 7,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since the start of 2007, many of them innocent civilians. That's more than the U.S. fatalities in Iraq. And, since 2000, 28 journalists were killed in Mexico and other reporters have disappeared and are presumed dead -- all because they were reporting on this very drug war. Last year, por fin, Mexican president Felipe Calderon declared a war on drug crime and sent thousands of federal troops to fight the trafficking, corruption and drug cartels. But the violence continues unabated -- it even seems to get worse as cartels respond to the government's actions with more violence, as a way of reasserting their control. And it was just reported in the New York Times that the rising violence has led the US to develop plans for civilian and military law enforcement, should the bloodshed spread north. (click here to read about that)

To find out more about Mexico's war on drug-related crime, read the excellent series by Los Angeles Times journalists. It includes articles, photos, videos and graphics. Go to: http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war

This is not to scare you from taking your next vacation in Mexico (though you might want to avoid some cities). To the contrary, Mexico is such a beautiful and interesting country -- I can tell you this from experience of visiting and working in Michoacan and Mexico City (DF). But it's worth reading these stories to understand that Mexico has problems that affect us, our Latino immigrants and their families back home. Fighting the drug violence is also America's business: drug-selling is a two-way street of supply and demand. Mexican drug traffickers control most of the US drug market, but the US demand continues to bring the flow of drugs and violence up through the border. It seems to be a bad circle.