Mexico's Calderon vows to escalate war on crime
Source: Reuters
(Recasts, adds police killings) MEXICO CITY, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Taking office amid a surge in drug-related killings, Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, promised on Friday to crack down on crime with tough sentences for narcotics smugglers and other lawbreakers. Calderon said his administration, which took power on Friday, would put together a plan within 90 days to step up the fight against organized crime and clean up a corrupt police force whose officers often work in league with felons. Drug-trafficking gangs have killed almost 3,000 Mexicans in the last two years in a bloody struggle for control of the trade in cocaine and other drugs destined for the United States. Four police officers were killed and four others injured hours after Calderon was sworn in on Friday when unknown gunmen opened fire on two patrol cars in the president's home state of Michoacan, the latest region to be engulfed by drug violence. "It's not going to be easy or quick, it will take time and will cost a lot of money and even human lives," Calderon told supporters in Mexico City's vast national auditorium, detailing his specific agenda for cracking down on lawbreakers. "I will be at the forefront of this battle. We are going to beat crime." Many of Mexico's largest cities are plagued by kidnappings, muggings and carjackings, while some rural areas have become drug-trafficking strongholds where local police fear to tread. "Today criminals want to terrorize and immobilize society and the government," said the conservative Calderon. "Let's put an end to the impunity of criminals." While cities like Nuevo Laredo on the U.S. border had borne the brunt of drug violence, Calderon's western home state of Michoacan and the neighboring state of Guerrero have also seen recent violence. More than 500 people have died this year alone in killings related to organized crime in Michoacan, where gangs have begun leaving severed heads in public places as warnings to rivals. One Michoacan gang even took out advertisements in local papers recently, claiming it was the upholder of law and order against other less scrupulous traffickers. Calderon also vowed to compile a national database on known criminals.
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