MEXICO ONLY BEGINNING LONG WAR AGAINST DRUGS

In the four months that he has been president of Mexico, Vicente Fox has
declared war on the powerful drug cartels and on official corruption.

But so far, the results, unfortunately, do not seem encouraging.

Mexico reported Thursday that its Army arrested a brigadier general, a
captain and a lieutenant for allegedly protecting the powerful Gulf Cartel,
based in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas.

Although these are the first major arrests since Fox took office Dec. 1, in
all, six military generals have been arrested on similar charges during the
last four years.

By far, the most shocking was the 1997 detention of Gen. Jose de Jesus
Gutierrez Rebollo, Mexico's anti-drug czar at the time. Gutierrez was
convicted of protecting the late Amado Carrillo Fuentes and his (Ciudad)
Juarez Cartel, just across from El Paso.

The latest arrests indicate that although Fox is scoring some victories
against corruption and the drug cartels, Mexico still has a long way to go
in the drug war.

The most discouraging fact is that if top-ranked military leaders can be
corrupted, so can the thousands of police officers who don't have as much
professional training and discipline or have as much to lose.

On the positive side, the Mexican government is routing out corruption,
even on the highest levels, rather than allowing it to continue unabated.