June was the deadliest month in Mexico in at least 20 years, according to new government statistics that show no end in sight to the beleaguered nation's descent into violent chaos.
The total of 2,234 people killed in June also made the first half of 2017 the deadliest six-month period Mexico has experienced in at least two decades.
From January to June the country recorded 12,155 homicides – a jump of nearly 31 percent from the same period in 2016. That’s also higher than the number seen in the first half of 2011, the previous high.
Particularly troubling for the government is that the deaths were spread across a number of states. In 2011 the high murder numbers could largely be blamed on just a couple of states with intense drug cartel feuds.
June marked the third consecutive month when murders increased.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.