Over 1,000 Killed in Mexico Drug Violence in 2009

Mexico’s Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said yesterday that over 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico already this year due to the drug trade in that country, adding to the 6,290 that were killed last year in drug-related violence. The good news, according to Mora, is that the worst is apparently over. Mora noted that the drug cartels operating in Mexico are engaged in turf wars that are so destructive to their business that they are, essentially, "melting down." And, while the Mexican government has no delusions about shutting down the drug trade altogether, they do hope to make Mexico a less attractive path to the U.S. for drug lords.

Mora was quick to point out the effectiveness of cross-border attempts at cutting down on the drug trade, with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration noting that such efforts resulted in the arrests of 755 Sinaloa cartel members and the seizing of $59 million in illegal drugs and other items. Said Mora, "We want to raise the opportunity cost of our country as a route of choice."

Mora has also noted that the drug cartels are facing a war of attrition. In addition to killing each other off, the drug trade itself is not so lucrative as it once was due to government efforts to stem the tide of the illicit drug trade. Said Mora, "I believe we are reaching the peak." He went on to say that he will not consider his job complete "until Mexican citizens feel they have achieved tranquility." It would appear that the "melting down" of the drug cartels is taking a heavy toll as well, with as many as 90% of the 1,000 deaths this year presumed to be drug traffickers.