Central America, Mexico Drug War | featured news

The Mexican press, as evidenced in recent attacks on two newspaper offices, grapples with decisions about how — and whether — to cover the drug war in ways that won't endanger lives.

Two decapitated bodies were found at the entrance to one of Mexico's most luxurious shopping malls on Wednesday and prosecutors announced that more than 47,000 people have been killed in drug violence in the five years since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown against drug cartels.

The number of homicides in Mexico rose by nearly a quarter in 2010 as the drug war intensified across the country.

The biggest newspaper in Mexico s most violent city will restrict drug war coverage after the killing of its second journalist in less than two years, just as international press representatives will urge the government to make security for journalists a national priority.