TROOPS URGED TO FIGHT DRUG WAR IN MEXICO CITY

Mexico City -- The leaders of two political parties called Tuesday
for army troops to be dispatched to this capital city and its suburbs
to fight drug traffickers in the wake of the assassination of a
high-ranking official in the attorney general's office.

President Felipe Calderon promised an "unprecedented battle" against
the traffickers, who have killed as many as 1,000 people as they
fight each other and Mexican authorities over control in a lucrative
trade in cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other illicit drugs.
Most of the drugs are shipped to the United States.

The shooting in the political, cultural and media capital of Mexico
raised troubling questions about Calderon's declared war on
traffickers, which has included troop deployments to several states
and cities where violence has since spiraled. Newspaper editorials
Tuesday accused the president of being unprepared for the backlash.

Jorge Chabat, an author and drug-trade expert in Mexico, said the
public probably would continue to back Calderon's efforts against the
traffickers despite the recent setbacks.

"It could be argued that Calderon's offensive has made the violence
worse, and that he was not fully prepared for the escalation of
violence that followed," Chabat said. "But the only other alternative
was to do nothing. Or to make a deal with the drug traffickers. And
that just isn't possible in a democratic state under the rule of law."

Police said they had few leads in the shooting of Jose Nemesio Lugo
Felix, who had been appointed just weeks ago to head a drug
intelligence unit in the attorney general's office. Lugo Felix was
killed in a rush-hour ambush Monday just a few yards from his office.

"We are witnessing a head-on, unprecedented struggle in the history
of our country against organized crime," said Jorge Tirana, a leader
of the conservative National Action Party in Mexico City's
Legislative Assembly. "We believe that Mexico City has become one of
the most dangerous hot spots in the country and that (the
authorities) have not acted appropriately."

Leaders of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in Mexico City and
surrounding Mexico state joined the call for troops and federal
police to deploy in the Mexico City metropolitan area, home to about
20 million people.

Until recently, widespread drug violence mostly had been a provincial
phenomenon centered in Mexico's border and port cities.

But this year has seen several violent incidents apparently related
to drug trafficking in and around Mexico City, including the shooting
deaths of two federal police officers April 26 on the highway linking
Mexico City to Toluca.

Tuesday, observers said Lugo Felix's death could mark a turning point
in the nation's drug war.

Since taking power in December, Calderon has sent army troops and
federal police units to fight drug traffickers in several regions and
cities of Mexico, including the border city of Tijuana and the
southern states of Guerrero and Michoacan.