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Have a friend who grew up in Mexico - dad was a Swiss national, mom Mexican, dad left when she was 6. Led an archetypal Mexico City life - dirt floor but fridge, etc. Did sound for Vincente Fox's campaign. Things were a basic "trade stories of rural poverty" game until she mentioned that her husband had been kidnapped by Narcos twice.

Robert Kaplan made a run at comparing northern Mexico to northern Afghanistan from a geopolitical standpoint. It's a mountainous region where criminal gangs, once they get established, become pernicious and difficult to uproot. That book was worth it for that point alone - that once you get an outside perspective, there isn't too much difference between Waziristan and Chihuahua.