Mexico to Amp Up War on Drugs By Doubling Federal Police

International Law

Mexico to Amp Up War on Drugs By Doubling Federal Police

Posted Jul 11, 2008, 03:56 pm CST
By Martha Neil

In an effort to control increasingly violent conflict between Mexican authorities and the drug traffickers on whom the country's president has declared war, the government is planning to double the size of its federal police force.

By doing so, it will lessen the role of the military in drug enforcement efforts, and the new Comprehensive Strategy Against Drug Trafficking also will focus on reducing the corruption that has hampered the government's 18-month-old amped-up war on cocaine, marijuana and heroin smuggling, reports the Washington Post.

"More than 2,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence this year, and Mexicans are horrified by almost daily reports of decapitations, shootouts and assassinations of police and municipal officials," the newspaper writes.

Meanwhile, as discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, the situation also affects the U.S., both because Mexico is a major supplier of illegal drugs here and because violence and other criminal activities there, including kidnappings for ransom, have crossed the border.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Are Criminals Winning the Mexican Drug War?"

ABAJournal.com: "6 Slain at Mexican Law Firm, 7th Victim Dies Later"

ABAJournal.com: "Another Top Cop is Murdered in Mexico"

ABAJournal.com: "Kidnappings for Ransom in Mexico—and the US—Are Up Significantly"

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