Pubdate: Sun, 30 Apr 2006
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2006 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post Service

U.S. OFFERS ITS HELP AS DRUG VIOLENCE RAGES

The War On Drugs In Mexico, Fueled By Violent Gangs, Has Left More 
Than 1,500 Dead, Putting Government In A Bind

MEXICO CITY - Sixteen months ago, Mexican President Vicente Fox 
declared "the mother of all battles" against drug trafficking.

But he got more than a battle -- he got a war.

Almost every week another assault by drug gangs, one more audacious 
than the next, generates headlines. Grenades have been launched at 
law enforcement offices. Four undercover drug agents were shot to 
death last month in Nuevo Laredo. Two police officers were 
decapitated 10 days ago in the resort city of Acapulco, not long 
after taking part in an antidrug operation. Their heads were dumped 
beneath a sign warning: "So that you learn to respect."

The escalating conflict has claimed more than 1,500 lives, including 
police, rival drug traffickers and civilians in the past year, more 
than double the number from the previous year, according to Mexican 
researchers. The death toll has risen despite increased enforcement 
efforts in Mexico and by U.S. authorities across the border. The 
police killings, in particular, are believed to be retribution for a 
crackdown on cartels in Mexico undertaken at the urging of U.S. 
officials, said Jorge Chabat, an expert in Mexican criminal justice.

Cartels On The Rise

The violence also coincides with the remarkable growth of Mexican 
cartels, which have seized a greater share of the drug market.

"Mexico is becoming the second Colombia," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D- 
Texas, whose district includes Laredo, across the border from Nuevo 
Laredo. "This is a serious and a ruthless situation."

Mexico's drug cartels have grown bolder as their profits have grown 
larger, Chabat said. Mexican drug traffickers generate as much as $10 
billion a year.

Mexico has had some successes in combating cartels. In the past five 
years, the leaders of the powerful Sinaloa and Gulf cartels have been 
arrested. But those victories have been muted by the failings of the 
Mexican justice system, Chabat said. The leader of the Sinaloa 
cartel, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, escaped from prison in 2001, and the 
leader of the Gulf cartel, Osiel Cardenas, is suspected of running 
his organization from the prison cell he has occupied since 2003.

"The Mexican government has been very effective in making arrests, 
but the rest of the criminal justice system -- the prisons and the 
judiciary -- is very inefficient and very corrupt," Chabat said.

The imprisonment of Cardenas set off a struggle between the Gulf and 
Sinaloa cartels for "la plaza" -- Mexican slang for drug turf. Each 
cartel is suspected of co-opting law enforcement officials -- and 
killing or intimidating those who don't go along -- to achieve their 
goal of controlling lucrative smuggling routes. But with Cardenas in 
prison, the Gulf cartel is at a disadvantage.

Cuellar applauds Mexico for responding with forceful measures, such 
as sending troops last year to quell drug violence in Nuevo Laredo. 
But with the violence persisting, he accuses Mexico of not being 
receptive enough to recent U.S. offers to help.

There have been signs that the two nations are collaborating more 
closely. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff 
flew to Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexican border, to announce a plan 
to increase cooperation with Mexican drug authorities.

Just two weeks later, the four undercover drug agents in Nuevo Laredo 
were killed. The killings were seen as a setback for Mexican drug 
authorities. But they were soon eclipsed by the shock of the 
beheadings in Acapulco.

The heads were discovered April 20 outside a government building not 
far from the beaches that draw tens of thousands of U.S. tourists each year.

Spreading Violence

The killings, coupled with grenade attacks on police stations in 
neighboring cities, were graphic reminders that drug violence has 
spread beyond the border and into the port and beach towns where 
drugs enter the country before being funneled north.

"We can't believe this is happening," said Mario Nunez Magana, 
spokesman for the Acapulco police. "This used to happen just up at 
the border. Here, we were only about tourism."

The slain officers, whose bodies were found wrapped in plastic miles 
away from their heads, had participated several months earlier in a 
shootout that left four suspected drug gang members dead. On Tuesday, 
less than a week after the gruesome discoveries, the Mexico City 
newspaper Excelsior posted a video on its website that it said showed 
one of the officers killing a gang member execution-style during that shootout.

The newspaper's scoop was a big deal for a few hours. But soon there 
was more drug violence to talk about: another police officer gunned 
down in Nuevo Laredo.

There was no comment from Nuevo Laredo's police chief because there 
is no Nuevo Laredo police chief. The interim chief, named after his 
predecessor was assassinated last year, quit a month ago. No one else 
wants the job.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman