Mexican Drug War

This may have been the bloodiest week yet in the prohibition-related violence that has wracked Mexico since Felipe Calderon called out the army in December 2006. And the death toll this year just passed 5,000, putting 2010 on pace to be the deadliest year yet south of the border.

Ciudad Juarez passed a grim milestone this week as it marked its one thousandth prohibition-related killing of the year.

In what is most likely a bid to blunt a campaign issue -- border security -- for Republicans in this year's off-year elections, the Obama administration is sending more than a thousand troops to the Southwestern border.

In Mexico, the killing continues with no end in sight. Here's the latest rundown.

Calderon's war on drugs is closing in on the 20,000 dead figure, according to a running tally by the Mexico City newspaper El Universal. And the prohibition-related killing continues unabated.

No letup in Mexico's prohibition-related violence this week, with another 208 killings to add to the toll.

The Mexico Drug War Update was on vacation last week, but now it's back. Weirdly enough, 420 people were killed in prohibition-related violence there in the past two weeks. Nothing to celebrate about that.

We're already $1.2 billion into helping Mexico try to wage prohibition on its powerful and violent drug trafficking cartels. Now, border congressmen want another $500 million in an emergency appropriation this year.

The drug czar was in the hot seat at a Wednesday congressional hearing, and activists and academics got a chance to weigh in on the flaws of US drug policy as well.

In the violent and volatile world of Mexican drug cartels, no alliance is forever. Now, the Zetas have grown too threatening, and the other cartels are joining forces against them. Meanwhile, Chapo Guzman and his Sinaloa cartel have taken Ciudad Juarez.