Mexico's Drug Culture

Since the beginning of President Felipe Calderon's drug war in 2006, Mexican officials have held press conferences to show detained suspects. At the same time the violence persists -- with nearly 60,000 people killed through 2013. Also, an estimated 140,000 people have moved or been displaced because of security issues related to both the gangs and drugs. Some of these photos are very graphic. I personally find them disturbing. However, the truth must be shown.

Ciudad Juarez, August 2009: Three young men died in this shootout in the parking lot of a shopping mall. In the first half of that year, more than 1,000 drug war deaths were counted in Juarez alone. The city of 1.3 million has been the center of a drug turf war between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels.

Mexico City, July 2009. Mexico's drug and gang culture has a strong religious streak. Thousands of devotees seen here attend a mass for Santa Muerte, Saint Death, a mythical figure condemned by the Catholic Church but embraced by many poor and criminal elements. This gathering is outside a shrine in Tepito, a neighborhood famous for its street markets brimming with pirated and stolen merchandise. It's home to the most popular Santa Muerte shrine, which sits outside a modest home. On the first day of every month, the shrine fills with followers who come bearing statuettes of the saint. Some pilgrims make their way from the subway on their knees; many smoke weed (la mota) or cigars with their saints.

Devotees of Saint Judas Thaddaeus inhale glue out of plastic bags to get high as they gather outside San Hipolito church during the annual pilgrimage honoring the saint. Judas Thaddaeus is the Catholic Church's patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes, but in Mexico he is also known as the saint of both cops and robbers (and prostitutes), as well as one of the biggest spiritual figures for young people in Mexico City. He has become the generic patron saint of disreputable activities.

This shrine in the Colonia Doctores neighborhood pays homage to both Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde, reputedly a bandit killed by officials in 1909. He's revered by many as a Robin Hood who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Several dozen such shrines exist in this neighborhood and in Tepito, where the cults thrive.

A shrine to Santa Muerte sits above a home in the notorious Colonia Libertad neighborhood. The shrine is walled in by the old border fence separating Tijuana from San Diego.

The drug culture is often portrayed by Mexican cinema. Here director Antonio Herrera films a scene for "Vida Mafiosa," Mafia Life, a low budget film glorifying the culture. "This is the only thing selling at the moment for me," Herrera said at the time as he worked to complete his seventh narco film.

Los Angeles gangsters (batos) hang out at the production of a narco film. One of the gang members (not pictured) was an extra in the film.

Alfredo Rios, better known by his stage name "El Komander", walks down a street just outside the studio of his agent and music producer. From Sinaloa, El Komander is one of

the hottest singers/composers of "Narcocorrido" songs, which glorify the drug culture.

The Jardines del Humaya Cemetery hosts many grave sites dedicated to drug traffickers. Some are two- and three-stories tall; many have bulletproof glass, Italian marble and spiral iron staircases.

A young man makes his way to the shrine of Jesus Malverde. Culiacan is the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa, long a hot bed of drug cultivation. For decades traffickers have worshipped at the shrine, helping to spread Malverde's fame.

Santa Muerte worshipers gather in a creek just outside Los Angeles, California.

Mexico's military shows off the results of a raid on a party in Tijuana, Mexico; assault weapons and the arrests of 58 people.

Women spread flour to soak up blood where a young man was murdered in Juarez.

The Culiacan prison is notorious for violence and riots. This inmate kisses his wife goodbye as their daughter cries.

A drug addict sits in a tent where he lives along the border canal with Mexico and the the U.S. Neither country will do anything for those along the border like this. They simply

suffer. Note: The usual ending for a lifestyle of drugs and devil worship is one of misery, prison or death. God warned us that his people were destroyed by a lack of knowledge. We are all his offspring and children. The god of this world has blinded the eyes of many with doubt, hatred or through some other evil way. His mission of destruction is threefold. Satan has come to kill, steal and destroy; but Jesus came to bring us abundant life. God sacrificed him in our place to buy us back from the penalty of sin or imperfection, which is death. Everyone will one day fail on their own to completely follow the perfect will of God. Yet those who trust and obey his word by their baptism in the name of Jesus, will obtain forgiveness of sins. One must only continue in the word of God thereafter. All those who hate God love death. The wicked walk on every side when the vilest, the most evil of men become exalted and respected, as if they were movie stars. Save yourself from this perverse and evil generation or suffer the consequences of disobedience. Warning: These final photos show death frequently and vividly.

The bodies of seven men arranged in chairs are pictured in Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan. The men were shot in the head with threat messages nailed to some of their chests using ice picks.

Suspect Erika Garcia, a police officer, is presented to the media after she was arrested by troops in Uruapan, on February 27, 2011. Garcia was arrested after soldiers stopped a convoy of three luxury vehicles carrying her and suspected drug traffickers at a military checkpoint, according to local media.

Delivery trucks from the Mexican snacks company Sabritas burn after assailants set them on fire at a warehouse in Lazaro Cardenas, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, on May 26, 2012. At least three warehouses and 28 vehicles were damaged in a series of coordinated arson attacks against the company in the towns of Lazaro Cardenas, Uruapan and Apatzingan. Drug cartel members posted banners saying the snack company let law enforcement agents use its trucks for surveillance, a charge the company denied.

Workers unearth the bodies of three unidentified people whose killings are believed to be related to drug trafficking, according to the state police department, in Uruapan on Janurary 4, 2007.

Police walk near a victim of a shootout between the drug cartels La Familia and Los Zetas in Uruapan on December 14, 2009.

A young man lies dead next to a skateboard and a bicycle after unknown gunmen opened fire in the eastern part of Saltillo, Mexico, on December 7, 2011. According to the state attorney general, three young men were killed in the attack.

Pictures of victims of violence are hung on the facades and walls of houses in the

neighborhood of Cerro Gordo in Ecatepec, outside Mexico City, on March 7, 2012. The Murrieta Foundation opened an exhibition called "Giving face to the victims in Ecatepec" with 15 giant photographs placed on houses as part a campaign against violence (rape of women, kidnappings, murders and robberies).

Blood flows near the arm of a killed boy, on the pavement in Acapulco, Mexico, on August 15, 2011.

Two men with their hands tied behind their back and with their faces covered with duct tape lie by the side of the road as police secure the area in the city of Veracruz, Mexico, on December 6, 2011. A total of 4 men were found killed in separate incidents in the Gulf port city, which has recently suffered growing violence as drug gangs battle for control of the region.

A truck burns on the road in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 9, 2012. Drug criminals set 25 city buses and other vehicles on fire in 16 different places, spreading fear throughout Mexico's second-largest city after an army operation, according to officials.

Police stand next to the body of a dead colleague in Ixtapaluca, on the outskirts of

Mexico City, on January 23, 2012. Municipal police were transferring two detainees when they were ambushed by gunmen, who shot dead all five police officers and one of the detainees, according to local media.

A skeletal corpse lies in Betania neighborhood, Acapulco, on March 27, 2012. During a recent wave of violence lived in Acapulco, eight people were killed, three of them found decomposed in the outskirts of the City.

The body of a young man who was shot several times, reflected in a mirror next to an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside a bus in Acapulco, on August 1, 2011.

The body of a man killed in a suspected drug-related execution lies along the path where he was shot on March 1, 2012 in Acapulco.

Medical workers stand next to the bodies of 10 men and one woman, discovered in a pile near a well in Valle de Chalco, Mexico.

A forensic technician sweeps blood off a street at a crime scene in Monterrey, on February 8, 2012. A taxi driver was shot dead by gunmen as another group of hitmen attacked three taxi drivers in a different neighborhood, killing two and injuring one,

according to local media.

Colleagues, relatives and friends of murdered journalists place candles and pictures on an altar erected at the Independence Angel monument in Mexico City, on May 5, 2012, during a vigil to protest against violence towards the press. Days earlier, Mexican security forces found the dismembered bodies of missing news photographers Guillermo Luna Varela and Gabriel Huge and two other people in bags dumped in a canal in the eastern state of Veracruz. The bodies of the photographers, who worked for the Veracruz news photo agency, also showed signs of torture.

Fliers for missing people hang on the door of the city morgue in Acapulco, Mexico. Drug violence surged in the coastal resort last year, making Acapulco the second most deadly city in Mexico after Juarez.

The body of a man, covered by a cloth in a restaurant after he was shot by unknown

assailants in Acapulco, Mexico. Once a glamorous beach mecca for international tourism, it's image has steadily deteriorated as a fierce turf war continues between rival drug gangs.

Cuban citizen Joel Rodriguez Barrero, was being detained in Xochitepec in this April 6, 2012 photograph. Rodriguez Barrero 'El Cubano,' was detained by soldiers and policemen during a patrol and found to be in possession of drugs and weapons. He's responsible for the recent murder and dismemberment of four minors and drug trafficking, according to the State Attorney's Office.

A soldier stands guard inside a clandestine chemical drug processing laboratory discovered in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The body of a dead man, a rifle next to him, lies in a field after a shootout with police on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico.

Mexican soldiers burn marijuana plants in a field, in Los Algodones community, Culiacan, Sinaloa State, on on January 30, 2012. They found the marijuana field and incinerated the drug as part of the Culiacan-Navolato operation.

The body of a man lies behind the wheel inside a car in Acapulco, Mexico. Two men were shot by gunmen, one was killed and the other seriously injured, according to local

media.

Demonstrators march to protest against violence in Mexico City, on August 14, 2011. The continuing tide of drug-related killings in Mexico has drawn thousands of protesters to march against violence. The sign reads in Spanish: "Stop the war. No to the National Security Law".

In Mexicos gruesome drug wars, bodies are often hanged, dismembered or shot. Notes left near the bodies are sometimes used to portray victims as criminals as cases are closed without investigations.

A skull of someone thought to be a victim of drug violence lies on the ground in Ciudad Juarez in early 2010. The border city of Juarez has been racked by violent drug-related crime, making it one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico's war on drugs.

Mexican Federal Police stand guard over 105 tons of marijuana seized in Tijuana, Mexico.

Mexican army soldiers display $15 million U.S. money on November 22, 2011, in Mexico City. The money was seized from alleged members of the Guzman Loera drug cartel during a raid in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico.

A masked Mexican soldier patrols the streets of Veracruz, Mexico. Below are some of the worst attacks since 2006. * Sept 15, 2008 - Suspected members of the Zetas drug gang tossed grenades into a

crowd celebrating Mexico's independence day in the western city of Morelia, killing eight people and wounding more than 100. * Jan 31, 2010 - Suspected cartel assailants killed 13 high school students and two adults at a party in Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. * March 13 - Hitmen killed three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez in March, provoking "outrage" from U.S. President Barack Obama. * June 28 - Suspected cartel gunmen shot and killed a popular gubernatorial candidate in the northern state of Tamaulipas in the worst cartel attack on a politician to date. Rodolfo Torre, 46, and four aides from the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, were ambushed on their way to a campaign event for the July 4 state election. * July 18 - Gunmen burst into a birthday party in the northern city of Torreon, using automatic weapons to kill 17 party-goers and wound 18 others. Mexican authorities said later those responsible were incarcerated cartel hitmen let out of jail by corrupt officials. The killers allegedly borrowed weapons and vehicles from prison guards and later returned to their cells. * July 24 - Police unearthed 51 bodies in a grave outside Mexico's business capital, Monterrey, in northern Mexico over several days. Some corpses were burned beyond recognition. * Aug 25 - Marines found the bodies of 58 men and 14 women at a ranch near the Gulf of Mexico in Tamaulipas state, 90 miles (150 km) from the Texas border, after a firefight with drug hitmen in which three gunmen and a marine died. * April, 2011 - Officials unearthed the first of what turned out to be more than 450 bodies buried in mass graves in the northern states of Durango and Tamaulipas. * Aug 20 - Five headless bodies were found in Acapulco, taking the number of people killed in the popular Pacific resort to at least 25 in that one week. * Aug 25 - Masked gunmen torch a casino in Monterrey, killing 52 people, most of them women. The attack takes less than three minutes. * Sept 20 - Thirty-five bodies are found abandoned in two trucks on an underpass in the eastern Gulf city of Veracruz, which had been largely untouched by the violence. * Oct 6 - Mexican security forces find 32 bodies at several locations around Veracruz, just two days after the government unveiled a plan to bolster security in Veracruz state. * Nov 24 - More than 20 bodies are found in cars in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, a day after the burned bodies of 16 people are found in the home state of the country's powerful drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman. * Feb 19, 2012 - A fight between rival gangs at a prison just outside Monterrey in northern Mexico leaves 44 dead. * May 4 The bodies of nine people were found hanging from a bridge and 14 others found dismembered in the city of Nuevo Laredo, just across the U.S. border from Laredo in Texas. * May 13 - Suspected drug gang hitmen dumped 49 mutilated bodies, stuffed in bags, on a highway outside the northern industrial city of Monterrey.

The Blogger In Mexico, where journalists are routinely killed and news organizations no longer cover drug violence, many people turn to social media and blogs to share information -anonymously. The writer behind Mexico's notorious Blog del Narco is a reportedly a young woman who has written a book based on the blog that chronicles that country's bloody drug war. The Blog del Narcos success has spawned copycats including some she says, that were set up by the criminal groups or Mexican government seeking information from the public. Journalism died a long time ago here in Mexico, according to her. She says that she is in her 20s, lives in Northern Mexico and is a former journalist. She started the blog featuring gory images, exclusive crime scene video and photos because authorities denied the violence and the Mexican media no longer reported it. The images and videos are proof. Were not lying. She thinks the violent images can serve as a warning for young people about the dangers of getting involved with the drug trade. By seeing those graphic, strong images, they can say, I dont want to end up like that. I dont want my photo to show up on the blog. Critics say the blog helps cartels spread terror, but she defended the graphic content. Millions read Blog del Narco and follow it on Twitter, and that has attracted advertisers. However, she is not rich and started the blog with her own small savings. She has lived frugally and gave up a normal life when she started blogging in 2010. Its been three years without a birthday cake. She blames former President Felipe Calderon for the violence created when he declared war on the cartels. She said, "it was like hitting a beehive with a stick. The blogger says its not clear what President Enrique Pena Nietos strategy is yet. Maybe not talking about it is part of his strategy."

The young blogger says the book made her relive some painful experiences. She says she has nightmares because of the video photos, and stories she posts. But says shell stop writing the blog when peace returns to Mexico. I still have hope. I have not lost hope." Below is a picture from the blog.

The Near Future "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:1-7 "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:2122 "And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's (Jesus' name) sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Mark 13:7-13 "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the

second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Revelations 6:1-17 "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10