BOSTON — Bullets, drugs, gangsters. The news out of Mexico has been a steady stream of violence since President Felipe Calderon began his war on the drug cartels.
Several hundred Mexicans have died in the last few weeks alone — adding to the toll of nearly 23,000 drug-related deaths since 2006.
Beyond the warring gangs and struggle for drug-trafficking routes, here are five things about Mexico’s drug war that may surprise you.
1. It’s called gangster chic
With the police cracking down on drug lords, all the confiscated loot has to go somewhere. Where? A Mexico City museum. The treasures on display include machinery confiscated from clandestine labs, high-tech spyware, gold-plated guns and diamond-encrusted pistols. It’s a closed-door museum, but GlobalPost’s Ioan Grillo got inside for a tour. Watch what he learned about the wealth, workings and bizarre culture of the narcos.
See where all the drug money goes:
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