For Felipe Calderon, taking over the presidency of Mexico was not smooth sailing. He had to sneak into Congress through the back door to take the oath of office in order to bypass opposition legislators who were trying to boycott his swearing-in ceremony on Dec. 1. Calderon proved he had guts, and would not let anyone get in his way. But that was a walk in the park compared with the challenge he now faces: confronting drug lords head-on.
In the first bold move of his presidency, Calderon launched “Operativo Michoacan,” a strategy to take the country back from drug barons. It began in his home state of Michoacan, where 50 percent of recent drug-
related killings have been committed. Seven thousand federal agents and military personnel were sent to stem the violence in an operation that was deemed a success by Mexico’s defense minister. The 22-day mission claimed 80 arrests and the destruction of almost 600 acres of marijuana plantations.
The border city of Tijuana, Baja California, became the second battle front for the drug war, with more than 3,000 soldiers and federal agents. There they faced a whole new set of challenges. According to the Mexican attorney general’s office, drug traffickers have virtually taken over Tijuana. The city is one of the main destinations for drugs that are smuggled across the border into the United States from Central and South America as well as other parts of Mexico.
Drug consumption is also on the rise. Mexican authorities say that in Tijuana alone, they have identified at least 8,000 small shops or “picaderos” where drugs are readily available. But perhaps more worrisome is the fact that drug cartels have successfully penetrated public and private institutions -- worrisome, but not surprising.
Drug-related corruption in Mexico has been rampant for decades. It is no secret that the big drug barons have enjoyed the protection of law-
enforcement agents even at the highest levels of government and the military.
In February of 1997, then-President Ernesto Zedillo was put in the embarrassing situation of having to arrest his own drug czar, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, for his links to the Juarez cartel. Zedillo also put renowned drug baron Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman behind bars, only to have him escape from jail during the first weeks of his successor’s presidency.
Touting success in his own war on drugs, President Vicente Fox in fact saw a rise in drug-related violence during the six years of his presidency. Thousands were arrested, including a few notorious drug leaders, but some continued to control their illicit business from behind bars, and new, smaller groups sprouted up, fighting for control of the drug routes left unattended.
Sending thousands of troops in 2005 to Nuevo Laredo to fight drug violence in what was called “the mother of all battles” backfired on Fox. Not only did the violence continue, but conflicts broke out between local police and the military. The kingpins showed authorities who was in control by killing a police chief just seven hours after he took office. Shortly after, a house was attacked with rockets and grenades.
According to the Public Safety Commission of the lower house of Congress, there were 9,000 executions linked to drug trafficking during the Fox years -- an average of four a day. Fox lost control of the drug war.
Calderon has warned that his fight against drugs will be a long and costly one that will most certainly cause loss of life. His tactics include using the military and navy in addition to local and federal police. He vowed to offer pay raises to the armed forces and stiffer sentences for drug lords and kidnappers. But he’ll be competing with the deep pockets of the drug cartels. His biggest challenge will be to prevent more corruption in law-
enforcement agencies, going after those in power who protect and sell out to the drug lords.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www
.mariaesalinas.com)
© 2007 by Maria Elena Salinas
Distributed by King Features Syndicate