Unprecedented level of violence in Mexico...

Really? Unprecedented? Let's see...Well, there is Somalia. Iraq a few years ago. And the 30 Years War in Germany (Austria, Bohemia, et. al.); the period leading up to the Fall of the Roman Empire and immediately afterwards. Lots of stuff in Asia, and in Africa. However, Mexico is possibly leading some category for "Bloodiest goddamn clusterfuck in the Western Hemisphere..." except for places like Detroit of course. In 2006, Detroit had a far higher rate per 100K in population than Mexico. On the other hand, Mexico has a lot more people, far poorer reporting and -- oh yeah --most of the violence clustered along the border and just south. Still, supposedly, they're only number 6 on the murder charts worldwide...of course, that includes places like South Africa which has been suffering from a crime and homicide rate that makes Detroit look like Vatican City. Which has a pretty high white collar crime rate, I suspect...