The Mexican Drug War began in the 1960s, with America's love of illegal drugs fueling the fire. Drug violence has caused the deaths of thousands of citizens in recent years. Drug cartels have become comparable to mafia figures and have resorted to mafia-style violence to demonstrate to the Mexican government that they remain in control. Violence caused by drug cartels is said to lead to Mexico becoming a failed state. George W. Grayson, a senior lecturer at the U.S. Department of State, has made more than one hundred and twenty-five research trips to Mexico and is considered an expert on U.S.-Mexico relations. A recent book by Grayson, Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State, describes the depressing situation caused by drug cartels and discusses the controversial question of whether Mexico will become a failed state. Narcoviolence in Mexico will be analyzed based on the severity of the drug problem and leaders' influence on the drug war to determine whether Mexico will achieve failed state status. First, narco-violence by overwhelmed drug cartels has become a key issue in Mexican politics. The severity of the problem is compounded by violent crime, kidnappings and corruption. Although cartel violence is occurring throughout Mexico, border states have become exceptional hot spots. According to Grayson, the homicide rate more than tripled, from 732 in 2006 to 2,648 in 2008, in Chihuahua, Baja California, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. A particular horror place is Ciudad Juarez, the largest city in Chihuahua, especially for young women. Tijuana rivals Ciudad Juarez as the most dangerous city in Mexico. Therefore, the Calderon administration is focusing on restoring security in the border states. Like… half of the paper… Imagining the US-Mexico Border: Policies Toward a More Competitive and Sustainable Cross-Border Region.” Journal of Global Economics 10, no. 4 (January). Pansters, W. G. 2012. Violence, coercion, and state-making in twentieth-century Mexico. Stanford University Press.Bunker, Robert J. 2011. Narcos across the border: Gangs, cartels, and mercenaries. Routledge Publishing. Schack, Todd. 2011. “Twenty-First Century Drug Warriors: The Press, Privateers, and the For-Profit Drug War.” Media, War and Conflict 4, no.2 (August): 142:61.Weintraub, Sidney and Duncan Wood. 2010. Mexican-American Cooperative Counternarcotics Efforts. Center for Strategic and International Studies.Turbiville, Graham. 2010. “Firefights, Raids, and Assassinations: Tactical Forms of Cartel Violence and Their Bases.” Small wars and insurrections 21, n.1 (January): 123-44.