GOVERNMENTS STRUGGLE TO CURB DRUG TRAFFIC

I've been asked by a reader to retract the statements I made on this page
last week about The University of Kansas basketball team.

The anonymous caller said since KU was able to beat its second-round
opponent in the NCAA Tournament last week, I owed the Jayhawks an apology.

OK. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry KU messed up the tournament bracket I filled out for our office's
friendly guessing game.

The point I was trying to make was that it seems like every year Jayhawk
fans think it's KU year in the tournament. And every year for the past 12,
they've disappointed. I wasn't going to let that happen.

Maybe the Jayhawks will beat Illinois tonight. Maybe KU makes it all the
way this year. I'd celebrate like a lot of other people. But I'm not
betting on it.

I'm not even so sure I'll watch tonight's game, which is set for about 9:20
p.m.

Something else on television has caught my eye.

Have you been watching Nightline's series this week on "Traffic?"

Using the movie "Traffic" as a backdrop, the series has been looking at the
drug traffic from Mexico into the United States.

It's been a fascinating story of corruption, drug use, violence and a
billion-dollar industry.

The Mexican drug trade is a big and dangerous business.

The series has shown the story of a Mexican newspaper publisher who was
shot -- and now lives under 24-hour armed protection -- because of a series
of articles his paper produced about the dominant Mexican drug cartel.

It showed the man and his son, who is a photographer for his father's
paper, strap on bullet-proof vests before riding to work escorted by two
vehicles full of men with guns.

The cartel uses violence or money when anyone stands in its way. It's
called silver or lead. Silver meaning money. Lead meaning, well, you get
the picture.

Corruption has been a way of life in Mexico. Police take money. Prison
guards take it. It reaches the very top of the political chain.

What they need, the drug cartels buy: a clear route through the U.S.-Mexico
border, a ticket out of prison, an easier climate for commerce.

While the series has painted a bloody picture of a nasty war, where
thousands of pounds of illegal drugs enter the United States every day, it
also has shown some signs of positive change.

Newly elected Mexican President Vincente Fox has vowed to end corruption.
It's nothing new. But unlike past leaders, Fox and his administration are
among the first to admit corruption has been a problem at all levels --
including the president's.

Fox is a big man. He speaks with authority. The people of Mexico -- the
vast majority honest and hard-working -- seem to love him. They want
change. They're tired of seeing the violence and bloodshed.

And Fox seems to be delivering. Good news for Mexico.

But the task is huge. Each time the government flexes its muscles, the drug
leaders flex back. And someone gets hurt.

Fox and the Mexican authorities are not alone in their fight against drugs
and corruption. U.S. drug enforcement agencies and officers, Fox said, are
susceptible to corruption, too.

There are two sides to that border.

On this side of the border is another industry shattering lives and making
thugs rich. Like any business, the drug trade depends -- no, survives -- on
massive demand. The demand is from the United States.

Drug use in the States is the fuel that turns the Mexican drug world's wheels.

Without it, there would be no border crossings by vehicles strapped with
cocaine and marijuana. Without the demand, the violence likely would not exist.

Will we ever curb drug traffic?

I'm not betting on it.