Violence

Data analyzed by Harvard University's Professor Jeffrey Miron confirm the hypothesis that drug and alcohol prohibition cause increased rates of violence.

Men armed with assault rifles burst into a shoe factory in San Pedro Sula and opened fire, killing at least 18 workers and wounding five. The city has been a hotbed of gun battles between drug traffickers and among the country's Mara street gangs.

The extremely dangerous city of Ciudad Juárez had more homicides this past August than any other month since prohibition-inspired drug trafficking organizations began fighting a turf war in 2008. Other very deadly months include this past June, when 313 people were slain, and August 2009, with 315.

Though they are nearly a thousand miles away from the bloodshed, Mexican expatriates living in the Rogue Valley fear possible reprisal.

Terrified vacationers were caught up in an intense gunfight between a Rio de Janeiro drugs gang and police, during which gang members invaded a luxury hotel and took 35 people hostage. The gang fought off police with machine guns and rifles as it sought to make its way back to Rocinha, with several gang members fleeing on foot or forcing passing motorists to drive them away. The shootout lasted about 40 minutes leaving the surrounding streets littered with bullet casings.