AP News, January 23rd, 2007
President Felipe Calderon pledged Monday to wage a permanent war against organized crime by coordinating more closely with local police and giving all law enforcement better training, equipment and intelligence work.
Calderon has largely relied on federal police and soldiers for a series of massive anti-crime sweeps in several Mexican states, but he has said future efforts will need to rely more on local police.
"In order to win the war on crime, it is indispensable that we work in a united manner," Calderon told a national gathering of state governors and top public safety officials.
His comments came three days after his administration extradited four alleged drug lords and 11 other suspects to the United States. He said he wouldn't give up the battle.
"This is a permanent fight in which, unfortunately, many have lost their lives," said Calderon. "We are fighting without pause so that these sacrifices will not have been in vain."
Unruly prisons, untrained or corrupt local police, and citizens' distrust of police are all major obstacles that Calderon faces in his crackdown on drug violence that includes executions, gunbattles and beheadings.
He said on Monday that he hopes to use the federal operations to strengthen local police, although in some cities, like Tijuana, one of federal agents' first jobs has been to investigate local forces for alleged corruption or violence.
"We will extend and fortify joint operations against organized crime, with the aim of having these operations result, in the end, in leaving behind strengthened local police forces," Calderon said.
He proposed better training, equipment, vetting and intelligence work, including a unified national criminal information data center.
"The idea is for all police forces in Mexico _ local, state and, of course, federal _ to comply with standards that will ensure that the public can trust our police," he said.
