Another area with increased murders: Nuevo Leon, where the Zetas have been battling the Gulf Cartel, and Monterrey in particular.

What's it all mean? The Calderon Government's mantra that the vast majority of the violence is limited to a few areas, like Tijuana and Juarez, is not holding up.

The Calderon government has long responded to critics by pointing out the violence is concentrated in a relatively small number of areas, Tijuana and Juarez prominently among them. However, even as the violence drops in some of these hot spots, it is more than balanced by the increases in formerly tranquil oases like Monterrey.

Which leads to "the cockroach effect" and warrants caution about flooding particular areas with police as crime rises:

[The]...cockroach effect... holds that the government cracking down in one region will, at best, lead to the criminal actors scurrying to other locales. As they set up shop in their new residence, the criminal exiles are no less violent than before, which means that nationwide impact of flooding a specific area with law enforcement could be negative, even with a positive local impact.

The war on drugs, in Mexico like the U.S., is a failure. Yet we keep throwing vast amounts of money and resources into it. It's time for other measures.