The murder on May 15 th of 50-year-old Javier Valdez Cárdenas, a renowned Mexican investigative journalist whose work focused on the Sinaloa drug cartel, has drawn new attention to drug-related violence in Mexico. Long termed a “drug war” in the international press, in recent years the level of violence linked to Mexico’s illegal narcotics trade has indeed reached the scope of a full-scale war. In fact, it is currently the second-deadliest armed conflict on earth. Murdered journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas Latest statistics bear this fact out: Syria has been the world’s worst conflict practically since that war began six years ago, and last year was no exception, with 50,000 more people dying in the fighting there over the course of 2016. But the Mexican drug war came in second for fatal casualties last year, with 23,000 people being killed in the fighting there. This is a shocking total when compared with more high-profile wars like Afghanistan (in which 16,000 people died l
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Author Roberto Vivo comments on wars past and present, on the world’s great peacemakers and on the pathway to global peace. His basic philosophy: In a world where 9 out of every 10 victims of armed conflict are civilians, war is no longer a viable political alternative. Indeed, it is the ultimate crime against humanity. If rising generations are to have a future, the key will lie in world peace. War is the pathway to oblivion.