I live in El Paso and my family is from Juarez and Chihuahua. In Juarez, where until recently several of my family members including my grandparetns, aunts, uncles, and cousins lived, the death toll in 2010 alone was over 3,000 ppl. That's more than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
Fortunately, my relatives were able to move the US (because they are dual citizens) before anything terribly bad happened to them. But many ppl i know personally, or that my relatives know haven't been so lucky. I guy I went to high school was killed in broad daylight. His car had over 23 machine gun bullet holes. There are literally hundreds of other accounts that i have heard personally of ppl being kidnapped, disappeared, car jacked, extorted, and killed. The mexian army has been deployed in the city for a over a year now, placing the city in a quasi state of martial law, but this still has done little to curb the violence and crime.
Its crazy that all this stuff is happening just across from us here on the Rio Grande. I believe that nobody dies before their time, so I take solace in this. But it would be great if Pot was legalized in the states to drive the prices down! I think that's the best solution. These drug cartels have so much power, and there is so much to gain for poor citizens and underpaid law enforcement officials that often times they feel that drug smuggling is their only option. Legalization would be a great way to hit the cartels where it hurts: their wallets.
Glad that you guys are interested in our part of the world! Thanks for the good vibes!