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 Editorials | Issues | February 2007 
Mexico Gangs Strong Despite Crackdown
 Traci Carl - Associated Press
| | A woman pulls back police tape as soldiers patrol outside a police station in the resort city of Acapulco February 6, 2007. Gunmen disguised as soldiers killed seven people at two police stations in the troubled Mexican resort of Acapulco on Tuesday, despite a military crackdown against violent drug gangs. (Reuters/J Guadalupe Perez) |
Powerful drug gangs still control parts of Mexico despite a wide-ranging crackdown involving thousands of federal troops, a top security official said Thursday.
Roberto Campa, executive secretary of Mexico's National Public Security Council, said the military offensive has been successful in regaining a few drug strongholds, but other areas remain under the thumb of traffickers.
"There are places where drug dealers have replaced the local government," he said. He refused to name specific cities or regions.
Since taking office Dec. 1, President Felipe Calderon has sent 24,000 troops and federal police into Tijuana, Acapulco and Michoacan state to root out growing drug trafficking that is blamed for more than 2,000 killings last year.
Campa said the effort had been successful in taking back much of Michoacan, and had garnered the support of local officials across Mexico.
But the crackdown has mostly passed by northwestern Sinaloa state and the Texas border region, reported strongholds of Mexico's two main gangs. Campa wouldn't comment on why the government hadn't focused on those areas.
For example, in 2005 in the border city of Nuevo Laredo — home to the Gulf cartel — a police chief was gunned down hours after being sworn in and half of the police force of 700 officers was fired for alleged links to traffickers.
"The first objective of the military operations is to regain national territory," said Campa, whom Calderon has tasked with evaluating police and improving cooperation between federal, state and local security officials.
Campa said an effort to upgrade criminal databases nationwide are expected to be completed in the second half of the year.
Officials are also working on a vehicle registration system that would outfit all Mexican cars with computer chips that can easily be scanned to access information such as identification numbers and past owners. The system is aimed at combatting the growing problem of stolen cars, and should also be ready by the end of the year, he said. |
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