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Mexico Institute in the News: 2011 Drug Violence Kills Nearly 13,000 in Mexico, New Figures Show

Eric L. Olson

The rate of drug related killings continues to increase, though at a slower rate than in 2010.

CNN, January 11, 2012; Local 10, January 11, 2012

"Almost 13,000 people were killed in Mexico by suspected drug violence in the first three quarters of 2011, the country's federal attorney general's office said Wednesday…

…The growth rate of killings between September 2010 to September 2011 was 11%, compared with 70% between 2009 and 2010, the agency said…

…In short, the bad news is that the violence continues at a record pace, while the good news is that the rate of growth has fallen, said Eric Olson, senior associate at the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The new figure

"means that the conflict is evolving and changing,"

he said. But, he cautioned,

"You can't draw too many conclusions from one number. One needs a deeper look.""

Read the full article at CNN, CNN U.S., or at Local 10.

About the Author

Eric L. Olson

Eric L. Olson

Global Fellow;
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
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Mexico Institute

The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.   Read more

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more