Deadly violence continues to climb in Mexico, where an ascendant cartel is strengthening its grip on power

Deadly violence declined slightly between March and April this year in Mexico, but the first four months of the year marked a grisly milestone.

The first one-third of 2017 saw 8,705 homicide victims throughout Mexico, 32% more than in the same period last year and 49.8% more than were recorded between January and April 2015.

The increase in homicides registered over the first four months of this year continue the reversal of the declines seen during the first two years of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s term, which began in December 2012.

The 7,727 homicide cases during the first four months of the year exceed even that of the same period in 2011, when narco violence in the country was at full throat under then-President Felipe Calderon. (Mexico has released data on homicide cases, which can include more than one victim, since 1997. Data on victims has only been released since 2014.)

According to Mexican news site Animal Politico, each of the five security zones established in 2013 as part of Peña Nieto’s national security plan has seen increases in homicides ranging from 10% to 60%.

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of AP