Mexico violence

While violence from drug traffickers has been a regular story out of Mexico over the past few years, the number of stories have really increased in the past few weeks. Tomorrow's Washington Post has one of the more comprehensive summaries of the recent violence.

The human cost of Mexico's aggressive war on drug trafficking is skyrocketing as the country suffers through the worst barrage of drug-related violence in years. More than 600 people have been killed this year, often in remarkably bold and bloody executions, according to national press tallies and state-by-state crime reports.

Nuevo Laredo is just one hot spot in a grisly conflict that has spread across the country. In recent months, a farmer in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa was gunned down as he visited his parents' grave, and a father in Monterrey, in northern Mexico, was shot dead in front of his son in a video arcade. Authorities have found corpses with limbs chopped off and drums of acid they believe traffickers used to dissolve the bodies of their victims.

...Mexican authorities this week disclosed for the first time that 90 soldiers have been killed in drug-related violence since President Vicente Fox took office in December 2000, vowing a "war without mercy" on Mexico's drug cartels. In addition, at least 65 agents of the Federal Investigative Agency have been killed since it was formed in 2002.

Having just returned from one of the safer regions of Mexico, I can say that this violence was a daily front page story in the media. I don't know whether any candidate can promise more than what President Fox has already done, but I'm sure no political leader in Mexico can appear weak on this issue and manage to win office.

In the meantime, the US should really provide all the assistance it can. Mexico cannot possibly hope to defend against terrorists, detect WMD's or improve border security if they are barely able to handle the drug trafficking violence. Mexico's government is going to work to protect its citizens before they worry about US priorities and rightly so. A more secure Mexico means a more secure America. There's no reason for any US official to oppose greater security cooperation with our neighbors to the south.