In 2006, Mexican President Calderón declared war on the cartels that control the multi-billion dollar drug trade. Some leaders have been captured, but their power has not been broken. Roughly 55,000 people have died in the violence so far,more victims than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. War photographer Teun Voeten, who for 22 years has covered conflicts worldwide, has captured the narco war in powerful images. He has photographed not only the bloodshed, but also the intervention of the authorities, the ensuing social disintegration and a population struggling to maintain its dignity against all odds. With introductory essays by renowned Texas-based anthropologist Howard Campbell and celebrated Mexican writer Javier Valdez Cárdenas, this book is a stark reminder that Mexican drug violence is not a marginal problem, but is a dangerous force that poses enormous challenges to the international world order.