Since the start of the drug war, an estimated 60,000 individuals in Mexico have either been killed or simply vanished.
It's a complex issue. The war in Mexico is fueled by the United States’ demand for drugs, and the weapons claiming the lives are almost always from the north.
I Shot Him, a San Francisco design studio, tells the story about the war through a two minute animation:
Mexican Drug Cartels
"The Violence of Mexican Drug Cartels" — I Shot Him
We found this cartoon through the Washington Post and its take is pretty spot on:
The video takes a bit of an advocacy bend, arguing that the United States plays a major role in the violence, both because our high levels of drug use fuel the narcotics trade and because our loose gun controls make it easy for cartels south of the border to arm themselves.
