Mexican violence

The murder of three people with ties to the American consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, shows how dangerous parts of the country are as its drug war continues.

Two Americans and a spouse of a Mexican employee were killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday.

After saying that President Barack Obama was "deeply saddened and outraged" over the killings, the White House allowed U.S. government employees at six U.S. consulates in northern Mexico to send their family members away from the area.

Since 2006, the Mexican government has been at war with drug traffickers, resulting in 18,000 deaths. President Felipe Calderon has dispatched more than 45,000 soldiers to root out the drug cartels that plague the country.

The violence of the drug groups is appalling. But the United States has expressed concern over Mexico's human rights abuses as well.

Meanwhile, the United States is advising American citizens to postpone any unnecessary travel to parts of the Mexican states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua.

The 200-mile U.S.-Mexican border is beset by drug violence which often takes the lives of innocent people. The deaths of the three people attached to the U.S. consulate is but one more example of this.