REPORT: CHIHUAHUA HAS HIGHEST NUMBER OF MEXICO DRUG WAR MURDERS

Chihuahua and five other states account for most of the murders in
Mexico attributed to the drug wars, according to the just-released
"2010 Mid-Year Report on Drug Violence."

The University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute is the host of the
Justice in Mexico Project's report by several academics.

Between January and June, Chihuahua state had the highest number of
slayings (1,665), and Sinaloa state had the second highest number of
deaths (1,221), according to the report.

The authors of the report also said it is difficult to verify the
Mexican government's claim that 90 percent of all murders since the
drug wars began in December 2006 are drug-related because officials
will not release detailed data about the victims.

Researchers for the report relied on official statistics, plus a
database compiled by Mexico's Reforma newspaper.

Recently, two federal government agencies reported significantly
different figures for the country's death toll. For example, the
Mexican Center for Research and National Security (CISEN) reported
about 28,000 deaths, compared to the federal Attorney General's Office
(PGR) figure of 24,826.

The drug violence in Juarez raged on through early today. Mexican
authorities said six people died after armed hit men struck at a home
party at Lucha Esfuerzo and Jose Reyes Estrada. The victims ranged in
age from 19 to 47; three of them died at the scene and the others died
later at the hospital.

Police said the hit men had returned a second time to the same place
to kill a man they were looking for and missed in the earlier attack
at about 2 a.m. today.