a city full of unfathomable sorrow

. . . and the most public face of the suffering is the city's mothers.

So the report goes, speaking about the drug violence in Ciudad Juarez. The recent spate of killings has made this city on the U.S.-Mexico border the current murder capital of the world. In addition to those killed, numerous people have also gone missing, and most of these are young women.

To a large extent the War on Drugs has been successful in Colombia, and the rehabilitation of Medellín is a testament to the success. However, the upsurge of organized crime and violence in Mexico, as well as the flourishing opium production and trade out of Afghanistan, are testaments to the fact that demand has not yet been mitigated. To the extent that our consumerism feeds organized crime and the gray economy, we in the West are all culpable. Let Go.

Image property of Kim René Teige by way of GOOD.