Mexico Under Siege

DEATH TOLL IN MEXICO'S DRUG WAR SURGES

Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora Says 5,376 People Have Been
Killed So Far in 2008, More Than Twice the Toll for the First 11
Months of 2007.

In a chilling assessment of Mexico's drug war, the country's top
prosecutor said Monday that more than 5,000 people had been killed in
drug violence so far this year, more than double the toll for the same
period in 2007.

Atty. Gen. Eduardo Medina Mora released the figures in a meeting with
a small group of journalists. It was the first official toll provided
by the government in many months, and was substantially higher than
the tallies being kept by Mexican newspapers.

Medina Mora said 8,150 people had been killed since President Felipe
Calderon took office in December 2006. In the first 11 months of 2007,
he said, 2,477 people were killed. In the same period this year, 5,376
were slain, 117% more than the previous year.

"I don't think we've reached the top of the curve," the attorney
general added.

The jarringly candid comments came as the government is battling
well-armed drug-smuggling gangs and seeks more aid and cooperation
from the U.S., where most of the drugs are consumed and most of the
weapons originate.

Violence has intensified and become increasingly gruesome because of
splits within the most powerful group, the so-called Sinaloa cartel;
the more vicious nature of newer gang leaders; and the actions of
paramilitary hit men recruited by the major drug mafias.

November was a record month for deaths, with 943 people killed. Most
of the slayings took place in the northern border states of Chihuahua
and Baja California and in the historic birthplace of the drug trade,
the Pacific coastal state of Sinaloa.

Mexican law enforcement has also suffered its worst corruption scandal
in a decade, with dozens of senior officials and agents accused of
accepting money to pass secrets to traffickers. Medina Mora said that
had not eroded U.S. confidence in Mexico's drug fight.