Comments are at the source link.
~~~

Darkening days in Juarez
Many fear Mexican city's drug violence puts nation at risk of collapse
By DUDLEY ALTHAUS
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Jan. 24, 2009, 10:22PM

CITY UNDER SIEGE
Facts and figures about the violence plaguing the Mexican border city of Juarez:

80: Estimated number of murders in Juarez through the first three weeks of 2009.

10: Number of people found murdered in Juarez on one day (Jan. 14) of this year.

1,600:: Approximate number of murders in Juarez in 2008, almost one-third of the country’s 5,400 gangland-style slayings last year.

500: Estimated number of gangs in and around Juarez.

PHOTO GALLERY
Bloodshed and fear in Mexico CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — In this carnage-racked border city of 1.3 million, more than 80 murders have been clocked in the past three weeks, and kidnappings, extortions, robberies and rapes further bedevil an already rattled population.

So far, the new year looks to be bringing as much, if not more, havoc than the last.

“Walking in the streets of Juarez is an extreme sport,â€