CARTELS' BANNERS MAY BE SIGN OF BORDER FIGHT

MEXICO CITY - A Roman Catholic cathedral in the border state of Nuevo
Leon was the backdrop this week for the drug cartels' latest salvo in
a drug war that is looking more like a conventional war, complete with
increasingly sophisticated propaganda.

Hanging from the church fence in Monterrey was a banner more than a
dozen feet high addressed to President Felipe Calderon, accusing the
government of favoring some cartel groups over others - a charge the
government denies - and appealing for a more balanced approach.

"We urge you to put neutral commanders in these jobs and not allow the
narco police to stay," it read in neat black block letters.

At least two dozen similar banners in 14 cities and six states
appeared Monday in public places. The Monterrey church is in front of
City Hall.

The sudden proliferation of "narco-banners" across Mexican cities,
including tourist zones like Cancun, shows that the cartels are
prepared to ratchet up a fight that has taken more than 5,000 lives
this year, analysts said.

"The banners are the first step in a series in which organized crime
groups are announcing that they are going to declare war on the
government," said Arturo Yanez, a former adviser to the federal
government on security issues.

His theory, Mr. Yanez said, is that some cartel groups will shift
their firepower from turf battles with rivals and join forces to fight
federal authorities.

"Two years ago, the federal government declared war on the narcos, but
the narcos have not declared war on the government and have not really
taken on the government," Mr. Yanez said, pointing out that the record
number of deaths are overwhelmingly from cartel turf wars and not
police or military action.

Whether or not a broader war is coming, analysts said the banners
represent the development by the cartels of an increasingly
sophisticated tool in the art of war - propaganda.

In the last few months, the handmade banners have gone from featuring
crude epithets aimed at turf rivals to often detailed accusations of
alleged collusion of government officials with Mexico's dominant drug
cartel group, the Sinaloa cartel.

Commentators said the war of words - along with an Internet barrage of
grisly videos - represent the changing nature of a conflict in which
cartel operatives openly carry out coordinated public relations
campaigns to counter the government's paid TV and radio spots.

The banners have appeared in drug hotspots like Reynosa, Tamaulipas -
across from McAllen, Texas - but also in the touristy capital of
Oaxaca state.

"One must remember that in the drug trade these days, former military
soldiers trained in the manipulation of information have replaced
capos of the rancher type," the newspaper El Universal wrote in an
editorial. "And like with all armies, the drug traffickers know that
in an armed conflict, propaganda is key to tilting the balance in one
direction."

Government officials have said the banners are deliberate
disinformation aimed at Mexican public opinion.

"The criminal element seeks to have a scheme of criminal propaganda,
trying to discredit the Mexican state and public officials," said
Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna. He was responding to
questions by reporters in late October about narco-banners accusing
him of favoring some drug cartels over others.

But at least in one case, the government appears to have concurred
partially with the banner-writers.

On Oct. 24, a narco-banner allegedly signed by a paramilitary group
associated with the Gulf cartel, the Zetas, accused the interim head
of the federal police, Gerardo Garay Cadena, of collusion with the
Sinaloa cartel and its allies, according to media reports from the
Gulf state of Veracruz.

A week later, Mr. Garay resigned and was put under temporary
arrest.

This week, he was formally charged with allegedly protecting drug
traffickers who had previously been aligned with the Sinaloa cartel
and stealing money during an anti-drug operation. He is being held in
a federal prison.

Mr. Garay is one of more than a dozen top anti-drug officials jailed
in the last two months as part of the attorney general's "Operation
Clean House." He is the highest-ranking official to face drug charges
since 1997.

Monday's banners were unsigned, but their authors are believed to
include members of the Gulf cartel, based along the Mexico-Texas
border. The banners were focused almost exclusively on Mr. Garay's
former boss, Mr. Garcia Luna. The Monterrey version mentioned his name
eight times in red letters, practically demanding his removal.

But Mr. Calderon recently gave his security minister a public vote of
confidence in the wake of the corruption investigation. Speaking in
late November while visiting Peru, the president said, "If there was
any doubt of his integrity, or even some element of proof that would
disqualify that integrity, surely he would not be the minister of
public security."

War of words "Narco banners," usually hung in public places at night
and discovered in the morning, publicize accusations against the
government or rival groups before they are removed by police or
soldiers. Recent examples include:

Monday: Two dozen banners hung in cities across Mexico "thank"
President Felipe Calderon for jailing allegedly corrupt officials but
call for the wholesale ouster of corrupt "narco police." The banners
are thought to be the work of cartel groups who allege that the
federal police favor the Sinaloa cartel and its allies to the
detriment of the Gulf cartel and others.

Oct. 24: Six banners are hung in the Gulf Coast states of Tabasco and
Veracruz, including one accusing the acting federal police chief,
Gerardo Garay Cadena, of working for drug traffickers. Mr. Garay
resigns a week later and is later charged with protecting drug
traffickers.

Oct. 4: Banners hung in Cancun, Oaxaca City and Reynosa, allegedly by
the Gulf cartel, accuse the rival La Familia group of setting off
grenades during Independence Day celebrations in Morelia, killing
eight. Earlier, La Familia used pamphlets to accuse a paramilitary
group associated with the Gulf cartel, the Zetas, in the attack.