In the two years since Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the presidential election in Mexico by a landslide, the country has endured many violent moments.
But recent months have been especially bloody and brutal.
On 7 June, an astonishing 117 murders were recorded in 24 hours, making it the country's most violent day of the year so far. The previous high had been on 20 April, when 114 homicides took place.
If the trend set in the first four months continues, 2020 could become the bloodiest year on record.
Impunity
Rather than the numbers, though, it is the sheer brazenness of these attacks which stands out.
Criminal gangs have targeted low-level cartel foot soldiers and high-profile political figures alike. There have been both mass killings and carefully planned assassinations.
“This is a cost that we are now paying for years and years of continued, almost perfect impunity in Mexico”, says Falko Ernst, a senior analyst at Crisis Group.
One of the most audacious attacks took place in the upscale neighbourhood of Lomas de Chapultepec in Mexico City in late June.
The street in which the attack happened was littered with bullet…
