FOX VOWS WAR AGAINST CRIME

CULIACAN, Sinaloa (AP) -- Against a backdrop of one of Mexico's most
violent, drug-plagued cities, President Vicente Fox launched a nationwide
battle yesterday against drug trafficking and organized crime.

"Today we initiate this great crusade," Fox said in Culiacan, the capital
of Sinaloa state. "I pledge a war without mercy."

Fox promised a complete overhaul of the nation's corrupt prison system and
strict enforcement of a Mexican Supreme Court ruling last week that removed
the last barriers for extraditing Mexicans for trial in the United States.

His announcement came five days after the escape of one of Sinaloa's top
drug bosses, Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzman, from a maximum-security prison in
Jalisco state Friday -- presumably with the help of prison officials whom
he allegedly paid off.