Dozens of people were murdered in the last week in a new surge of Mexican drug attacks. Fourteen bodies were found in the state of San Luis Potosi, 17 in the port of Acapulco, and 12 in Mexico City itself, a locale relatively shielded from drug violence, reports the Los Angeles Times. The wave of deaths comes not too long before the six-year anniversary of the federal government's declaration of war on the cartels.

The violence also comes about a week after President Calderon boasted to the National Security Council that drug-related homicides had dropped 15% over the previous year. Since the government launched its anti-cartel offensive in 2006, an estimated 60,000 people have been killed and another 10,000 are missing.