JUAREZ VIOLENCE: WHO WILL STEP UP AND DO SOMETHING?

Mexican government officials, even at the highest levels, can't seem
to come up with any concrete plans to effectively confront violence in
Juarez and other parts of Mexico.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon was back in Juarez on Wednesday, but
was unable or unwilling to be specific about measures aimed at
stopping violence. He said he would send a special team of police to
investigate kidnapping and extortion in the city.

Those are certainly matters for concern, but they skirt the core issue
of drug cartel violence and how to stop it.

Calderon talked in rather vague terms about improving safety, raising
the standards for police recruits, assigning a special prosecutor to
Juarez, about changing society and making Juarez a better place to
live.

Hugo Almada, who attended the meeting representing the local public
safety committee, was blunt in his assessment. Blaming Calderon, the
mayor of Juarez and the governor of Chihuahua for the violence, he
said, "The problem .. in Juarez is corruption. We think that the
corruption of the federal, state, local and military forces is the
center and the foundation of the problem."

Many would agree with him. But pervasive corruption is difficult to
root out because, for one thing, no one knows who can and cannot be
trusted.

Even Calderon hinted at the problem when he said, "You need people who
you can trust. We have detected -- I'm not saying in Juarez, but the
country in general -- a powerful infiltration of the same criminal
elements in the police corps."

As people protest, officials dither and fingers are pointed, the
cartels flourish and prosper amidst the violence and confusion,
content that they are at the top of the food chain and have no natural
enemies except themselves.

Perhaps it is time, as many have said, that outside help should be
called in because Mexican officialdom, from federal levels down
through city government, seem unwilling or unable to cope with the
growing crisis.