With over ten thousand victims, the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez was one of the most violent theatres of the war against drug trafficking, which was initiated by the former Mexican president, Felipe Calderón, during his 2006-2012 mandate. This article draws parallels between, on the one hand, the manner through which the government problematized the rise in homicides and, on the other hand, the experiences of some of the victims of violence inflicted by law enforcement agencies. Drawing from ethnographic material collected between 2008 and 2011, the practices of state violence implemented during the last military operation are approached here through the experiences and narratives of victims.
Topic:
War on Drugs, State Violence, Ethnography, and Violence