MEXICO CITY, May 17 (Reuters) - Mexico and U.S. law enforcement agencies are setting up an intelligence network to stop Mexicans buying guns in the United States and bringing them south of the border to use in a vicious drug war.

Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia said on Thursday that Mexico was in talks with the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, the DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to put the brakes on guns entering Mexico.

Most of the often high-powered guns used by drug traffickers in Mexico come from the United States where it is easier to buy them, Garcia said.

In Mexico, it is difficult to buy a gun legally, although illegal sales are widespread.

"We are working with them ... specifically to create this coordination plan to detect gun buyers who are of Mexican origin and who could bring them over the border," Garcia told foreign correspondents.

There are around 6,000 gun shops on the U.S. side of the border, Garcia said, making it easy for Mexicans to cross and buy arms.

President Felipe Calderon has been unable to contain rampant violence despite sending thousands of troops to fight drug gangs in mostly northern and western states after taking office last December.

More than 900 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico this year, most of them in turf battles between the Gulf Cartel from northeastern Mexico and an alliance of traffickers headed by kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Twenty-two people, including five policemen, were killed in a gunfight in the northern state of Mexico on Wednesday in the bloodiest clash of the government offensive.

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