Mexico cartel death toll rises

摘要

Mexican officials revealed in January that just fewer than 13,000 people were killed in drug-related violence between January and September 2011, making it the bloodiest start to a year since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the cartels in 2006. The figure marks an 11 per cent rise compared to the same period the previous year. The attorney-general's office also revealed that a total of 47,515 people have been killed since 2006. But officials drew some comfort from the fact that 2011 marks the first year that the rate of increase in drug-related deaths had fallen, having risen by 70 per cent the year before.