Whack-a-mole: Mexico Death Toll From Drug-Related Violence Is Thousands Higher Than Was Reported Earlier -- but the Violence Is Not as Widespread as It Seems

Mexico - Death Toll From Drug-Related Violence Is Thousands Higher Than Was Reported Earlier - NYTimes.com: "The number of deaths from drug-related violence is higher than previous acknowledged, the director of Mexico’s intelligence agency said Tuesday. Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, director of the National Security and Investigation Center, or Cisen, put the new toll at a “little more than 28,000 murders” since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. Last month the attorney general’s office reported that 24,826 lives had been lost nationwide." August 3, 2010, NY Times

Mexico's violence not as widespread as seems : "... a closer look at the latest official statistics indicates that much of Mexico has modest murder rates. The horrific violence that is jacking up the national death toll is largely in nine of Mexico's 31 states. 

Despite a wave of killings in these states, the murder rate in 2009 was still lower than it was a decade before, long before the Mexican government began a crackdown against the cartels." August 3, 2010, USA Today