Mexico Under Siege

DRUG WAR TOLL TOPS 22,000

The Tally, Based on Official Mexican Figures, Is Higher Than
Previously Reported

The death toll from the Mexican government's three-year war on drug
cartels is far higher than previously reported -- more than 22,000,
according to news reports published Tuesday that cited confidential
government figures.

The figure is significantly higher than tallies assembled by Mexican
media. They estimate that more than 18,000 people have died since
President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against
drug-trafficking groups after taking office in December 2006.

The unofficial media tallies have often been cited by foreign news
outlets, including The Times.

The government has seldom released official counts of those killed in
the skyrocketing violence, which stems largely from fighting between
rival drug-trafficking groups.

The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it was preparing to make its
count public, but it had not issued its report by the evening.

The daily Reforma newspaper first published the toll number, which it
said was contained in a confidential file that top security officials
gave federal senators during a hearing Monday. The Associated Press,
which said it had gained access to the report, said the total given was 22,700.

The figures present a starker picture than previously known of the
violence that has buffeted the country, especially along the U.S.
border and in drug-smuggling corridors.

Last year was the deadliest since the Calderon anti-crime offensive
began, with 8,928people killed, according to Reforma. So far this
year, 2,904people have died, the newspaper said. The AP said the
report put the toll at 9,635 last year and 3,365 in January through
March this year. It was unclear why there were discrepancies in the
report's figures.

Calderon has dispatched more than 48,000 soldiers and several
thousand federal police officers along the U.S. border and in other
drug-smuggling hot spots across the country.

The clampdown has brought down some leading drug figures, including
suspected kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva, killed during a raid in the
city of Cuernavaca in December. A succession struggle for control of
his cartel has sparked violence recently in the central state of
Morelos, where six bodies were found Tuesday under a highway overpass.

But critics say the army-led strategy has failed to reduce violence
in cities such as Ciudad Juarez, the nation's deadliest. Juarez is
part of Chihuahua, the state with the most killings. Next on the list
are the states of Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California and Michoacan,
according to Reforma.