Mexico Drug War Casualties on the Rise

The drug-fueled violence that has plagued Mexico and spilled over the border into the US shows no signs of stopping.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s offensive against the drug cartels has been met by a wave of violence that has claimed the lives of more than 47,000 people, according to statistics cited by the Associated Press.

Included in the number of casualties are 16,000 unidentified bodies, with at least 49 more uncovered last month.

The violence, which sometimes trickles into the US, has made some worried about the seemingly futile effort to clamp down on drug traffickers.

“The level of violence we’re living with reflects the critical condition our institutions are in, and it reveals a corrupt government,” Blanca Martinez of the Fray Juan de Larios human rights center in the northern border state of Coahuila, told the AP.

Some, like former Salon blogger and current Guardian columnist, Glenn Greenwald have blamed America’s drug laws for the death wrought by cartels.

Greenwald contends that, without a demand for illegal drugs in America, the Mexican gangs would have far less incentive to engage in violence.

Whatever the cause, the deadly results of Mexico’s drug war are undeniable.