U.S. citizens fall victim to escalating violence in Mexico

Over 200 U.S. citizens have been killed in Mexico since 2004, according to a report by Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle. "More U.S. citizens suffered unnatural deaths in Mexico than in any other foreign country — excluding military killed in combat zones — from 2004 to 2007, State Department statistics show."  Mexican Congressman Juan Francisco Rivera Bedoya said in an interview with the Chronicle that he believes the people killed were involved in illegal activities or traveling into unsafe areas. The murderers are rarely caught.  The national arrest rate for homicides is 20 percent according to data from the Citizens’ Safety Institute in Mexico City.