Drug War Takes 1,000+ Lives

While Washington is debating whether to approve the Merida Initiative, a five year plan to provide Mexico up to $1.4 billion in military equipment, training and other resources,a wave of drug trade related violence is occurring in Mexico. According to the Dallas Morning News May 11, 2008 article,("Another Police Official Slain in Mexico") 'Hit men killed a top police official Saturday, capping a bloody week in this community on the Texas border and across the country. Juan Antonio Roman Garcia, second in command of the beleaguered police department here, was shot more than 50 times early Saturday as he parked outside his home. Mr. Roman, 54, was the third senior officer killed in Juarez this week and the sixth nationwide, including Edgar Millan, one of the country's top federal policemen. More than 25 police officers have been gunned down since May 1, nine of them federal agents."

The article states, "Mr. Roman's name was first on a hit list left in January by drug traffickers, who warned that the targets would face death unless they resigned their post. Many heeded the message. Others kept working and were hunted down over the past weeks. The Roman assassination came one day after President Felipe Calderon urged Mexicans to unite against organized crime, which has claimed more than 1,000 lives this year. More than 100 have died this week alone - the majority of them in the states of Guerrero, Sinaloa and Chihuahua. The spike in killings reflects, in part, a bloody fight between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels, which until this year had coexisted."

The article adds, "Since taking office in 2006, the president has deployed more than 25,000 soldiers to the regions most affected by drug violence. He sent more than 2,000 military and federal agents to Juarez. Cartel leaders have responded with an unprecedented wave of violence against police officers, soldiers, federal agents and journalists. Alfredo Quijano, editor of Norte de Ciudad Juarez newspaper, said the recent killings underscore the daunting challenges faced by Mr. Calderon's strategy. When the military arrives, thugs depart town, he said. Once the military reduces pressure, even temporarily, as appeared to be the case this week when top military brass left their posts to attend a national security meeting in nearby Chihuahua City, violence returns."