Incidences of drug-related violence in Mexico and on the border continue to make news. We tend to hear about the crimes that touch American lives — like the reported killing of a man riding a Jet Ski on the Rio Grande. What we don’t hear as much about is how drugs and violence shape the everyday lives of Mexicans. So here are dispatches from four writers on how drug trafficking has changed their parts of the country. They were translated by Kristina Cordero from the Spanish.

By PEDRO ÁNGEL PALOU

The drug lords like this city for the same reason I do: it’s safe.

By FEDERICO CAMPBELL

Drug-related violence has driven away the tourists, but now locals are reclaiming their city.

By ÉLMER MENDOZA

In the state where Mexico’s drug trade started, narcotics have seeped into the social D.N.A.

By RICARDO ELIZONDO ELIZONDO