As 2009 comes to an end, it's time to look at the drug war numbers.
In third place, Tijuana, with 635. December has been particularly bloody, with 103 murders. WIth 635, Tijuana beats its 500 or so homicides of 2008.
In second place, Culiacan, which is set to hit about 500 homicides, just as it did last year. In the entire state of Sinaloa, there have been about 1,150 homicides; Culiacan has the lion's share.
And in first place? You guessed it. Ciudad Juarez has topped last year's tally of 1,600 homicides related to the drug trade with... 2,600. No wonder the government is rethinking its strategy up there, yet again.
The United States is on track to record about 17,000 homicides this year. Mexico is on track to record about 7,700. Mexico's population is just over a third of that of the United States. You do the math...
OK, I'll do the math. That means the official homicide rate in the US will be about 5.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Mexico's will be about 7.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.
For the second year running, Mexico's homicide rate is worse than that of the United States, widely considered one of the most violent countries on earth.
NOTE: This photo is not really of Calderon's family, it is meant to be symbolic.
NOTE NO. 2: Lindsay Lohan in El Universal again. This time they are wondering whether her beauty is fading. Classy. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/648423.html
I think the Mexico murder rate is actually a tick or two higher...the 7700 refers only to organized crime-related murders, right? I think I remember reading someone projecting the Mexican number at about 10.8 or something like that. Though I may be misremembering.
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