The number of homicides related to organized crime in Mexico in 2010 reached 15,273, the highest rate since it started in December 2006, a military of

Bodies of men whose deaths are related to nacotráfico in Cuernavaca, Mexico (file photo)
"In 2010 it was recorded the highest number of homicides, 15,273, although it is important to note that the trend has stabilized in the third quarter and since then, there was a slight decline," said the official spokesman of the government on security issues, Alejandro Poiré.

Poiré stressed that these homicides related to drug trafficking are concentrated in three Brazilian states: Chihuahua in the north; Tamapulipas in the northeast, and Sinaloa, in the west, which recorded 50% of cases.

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Overall, drug related crimes affected 73 out of 2,430 municipalities in the country, the government said.

The number of deaths in 2010 represents almost half of which occurred in Mexico since the government of President Felipe Calderon began in December 2006, an offensive against the cartels, involving about 50,000 soldiers and federal police.

In December, prosecutors had issued a balance of 30,200 deaths since December 2006, of which 12,500 occurred between January and November 2010.