Development: An estimated 40 people died across Mexico in organised crime-related violence, according to 19 August press reports.
Significance: The end of President Felipe Calderón’s term in office, just like the beginning, may be bookmarked with a surge in the number of violent deaths. The focus of the violence now appears concentrated in western and central states, where the security forces have launched operations against the drug gangs operating in those areas, particularly in Michoacán.
Key points:
• Some of the latest incidents were recorded in traditional hot-spots in northern states, such as Coahuila and Nuevo León, where nine people were killed. However, most of the violence occurred in western and central states like Michoacán, Guerrero and Morelos and even in the Estado de México.
• At least 12 people have been murdered in and around the resort town of Acapulco, Guerrero, since 18 August, all involving firearms. State authorities in Morelos found nine bodies around the state. In the Estado, six bodies were found, including three in Nezahualcóyotl, a Mexico City suburb, with a message signed by the drug gang, La Familia Michoacana. In Michoacán itself, the site of a raging battle between the federal police and organised crime, eight men were found shot dead or dismembered. Authorities believe that hired assassins did the work.
• President Calderón, a Michoacán native, said upon celebrating his 50th birthday (on 18 August) that at one point he feared that he would not live to see 50. He revealed that in December 2006, shortly after taking office and launching his war on organised crime, his security chief informed him of an alleged plot to attack the presidential plane. Calderón gave no details but said the threat was so real that he recorded a special message to his family in case something happened to him.
