Mexico battles drug traffickers

Before missions against drug cartels, Mexico’s army pledges allegiance to the country. the special forces are part of the 20,000 troops sent to the US-Mexico border to help stamp up drug gangs. One officer says nothing less than the survival of Mexico is at stake. The report suggests organized crime has been successful in affecting everyone from high ranking government officials to police officers. 170 police officers have been killed fighting drug cartels since President Calderon took office and top ranking police are leaving Mexico. The author of the report says there an imbalance in resources between the drug cartels and the police officers. He says this could put Mexico on the path to a failed state, as a series of militias are close to controlling the country, and it’s not clear the Mexican military can control those militias. Some analysts see echoes of Colombia where drug cartels almost toppled the state in the 1980s. The US poured tons of resources into the country and toppled the militias, but drug cartels still have strongholds there. this former US government official says Mexico is now at a fork in the road. This analyst says the idea of a failed state is an exaggeration but thinks the next few months will tell the story of whether the government can succeed or not in suppressing the cartels. The Bush administration is urging Congress to donate military funds to Mexico, reminiscent of US policies towards Mexico in the 1990s.