Calderon’s use of army to wage war on Mexican drug dealers raises questions
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In a couple of articles this morning, Ken Ellingwood in our Mexico City bureau takes a closer look at the escalating drug violence in Mexico and asks whether President Felipe Calderon’s use of army troops against the drug cartels can work.
‘Although the Mexican army has been able to quiet drug violence in some hot spots, political observers say the deployment of thousands of soldiers could undermine civilian institutions and jeopardize Mexico’s evolving democracy,’ writes Ellingwood.
Meanwhile, as the violence escalates, so does the number of troops sent in by Calderon.
‘Helmeted army troops steer Humvees past strip malls in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, some of the 40,000 soldiers and 5,000 federal police officers President Felipe Calderon has deployed to secure large swaths of the country against entrenched drug traffickers,’ says the report.
Read the two reports here:
Mexico army marches into drug war -- again
Toll mounts in Mexico’s drug war
Meanwhile, as the Christian Science Monitor reports here, as Mexico’s drug violence intensifies and concerns rise on both sides of the border over Mexico’s stability, a debate is intensifying over President Bush’s Merida Initiative aid package to the Mexican government.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City