 Estimates set the death toll above 120,000 killed by 2013, not including 27,000 missing.Since taking office in 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared that the war was over; however, his comment was met with criticism as the homicide rate remains high.Due to its location, Mexico has long been used as a staging and transhipment point for narcotics and contraband between Latin America and U.S. markets.