Homicides climb by 22% in 2016

Homicides rose by 22 per cent in 2016 — the highest rate of increase since the height of the drug war.

Statistics released by the Interior Department show that Mexico had 20,789 homicides in 2016, compared with 17,034 in 2015.

Homicides in the Pacific coast state of Colima more than tripled, and in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz they more than doubled.

Homicides largely fuelled by drug violence peaked at 22,852 in 2011, and then declined, falling to 15,653 in 2014.