Crime & Violence

The bloody insurgency in Afghanistan claimed more than 10,000 lives last year, but the death toll still trailed that of Mexico's prohibition-related violence.

More major drug trafficking figures were captured or killed this week, yet Mexico's drug prohibition-related violence continued unabated. This year's death toll has passed 9,000, and Ciudad Juarez this week passed the 3,000 mark.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said money laundering and police reforms are key to winning victory over the drug cartels. But with the jockeying already beginning for the 2012 elections, their prospects are fading.

Will US drug policy in Latin America change for the better or the worse after the 2010 elections? Or will it stay the same? We ask the analysts.

Former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez is the latest global political figure to come out for drug legalization.

He led the effort to imprison Prince of Pot Marc Emery, but now former federal prosecutor John McVay has emerged from the dark side.

The Mexican army undertook Operation Join Together Chihuahua in March, as thousands of troops poured into the Mexican border state. As has been the case elsewhere in Mexico, the arrival of the troops has been followed by a growing chorus of human rights complaints.