According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, more than 5,000 people have disappeared in the five years since President Felipe Calderone began cracking down on drug cartels.
In addition to these disappearances, there’s been a continuous wave of news from the country about murders connected to organized drug crime. The most recent death involves the police chief of Zacatepec, who was ambushed by gunmen while driving alone—though he survived the attack, he was shot at a gas station later that day and died at the hospital.
According to the CNN article on the disappearances:
In October, Mexico’s president said the “very high” number of missing people was a growing concern. He listed them among the victims of violence that he described as “open wounds” in Mexican society.
“We don’t know the size of the problem,” Calderon said during a speech inaugurating a new prosecutor’s office aimed at helping victims.
