Drug cartels, insurgents turn Mexico into one of the world’s most violent countries

By JAY ROOT
McClatchy Newspapers

MEXICO CITY |

Gangland-style murders and kidnappings reached record levels in Mexico during the first half of 2007, a report from Mexico’s Congress found, making Mexico one of the world’s most dangerous countries.

One analyst who worked on the report said that Mexico’s murder rate now tops all others in the Western Hemisphere.

“In a global context, we suffer from more homicides — that is to say, violent deaths — than any other region in the world except for certain regions on the African continent,â€