34,612 drug-war deaths in 4 years

A total of 34,612 people have died in drug-related killings in Mexico in the four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared an offensive against drug cartels, officials said Wednesday.

This includes 30,913 execution-style killings, 3,153 deaths in shootouts between gangs, and 546 deaths involving attacks on authorities.

The killings reached their highest level in 2010, jumping by almost 60 percent to 15,273 deaths from 9,616 the previous year.

Props to the mainstream press for covering this.

Major criticism to them for failing to provide the needed context about what motivates these killings and what role does US drug prohibition play in them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110112/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico