Civilians Are the Forgotten Victims of Mexico's War on Drug Cartels Leticia Pineda - Agence France-Presse
go to original April 29, 2015

Mexico - The State and the Drug Cartels (DW)

More than 80,000 people have died in Mexico's drug war since late 2006, when then president Felipe Calderon deployed troops to crackdown on drug cartels.

The controversial deployment, which has continued since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in 2012, has led to numerous clashes between gangs and security forces.

There are deaths on both sides, and occasionally innocent bystanders are caught in the crossfire. But there are no official figures on the number of bystanders killed in the drug war, according to experts.

The country lacks legislation on who should compensate the families of victims, and how those families should be treated, said Gerardo Rodriguez Sanchez Lara, a national security expert.

"The issue is complex and very new in Mexico," he said, noting that in a country at war, those who lose or the state will usually be made to pay damages.

But in a country not at war, where there are "extrajudicial actors who kill civilians, the issue of compensation is more complicated," the expert said.

Rodriguez said the state should provide compensation to families of civilians killed in clashes, just as it takes care of relatives of dead police officers.

Read the rest at InterAksyon.com

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