Summary If in the beginning the drug traffickers in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, settled pending accounts with other sides without affecting the population in general, at present it is common for shootings to take place in public places and indiscriminately reach those who are in the streets, hospitals, businesses, bars, restaurants and even churches. The violence there is blamed on the drug war that has escalated in the past three years since kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán sent his hitmen to wrest control of the Juárez cartel from Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the Sinaloa, Golfo, Zetas, Tijuana, Juárez and La Familia Michoacana cartels are vying for power, according to the Federal Anti-Drug Agency (DEA). Furthermore, in Ciudad Juárez there is talk of another cartel called "La Línea de Juárez". The border is a particularly important area for cartels where drugs move north and weapons move south. According to the US Department of State, 90 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States arrives through Mexico from South America and it is estimated that 60 percent of the drugs are smuggled through some 350 kilometers in the border between New Mexico and Texas. In addition, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms estimates that some 300,000 weapons are illegally exported to Mexico each year.

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