U.S. OFFERS ITS HELP AS DRUG VIOLENCE RAGES

The War On Drugs In Mexico, Fueled By Violent Gangs, Has Left More
Than 1,500 Dead, Putting Government In A Bind

MEXICO CITY - Sixteen months ago, Mexican President Vicente Fox
declared "the mother of all battles" against drug trafficking.

But he got more than a battle -- he got a war.

Almost every week another assault by drug gangs, one more audacious
than the next, generates headlines. Grenades have been launched at
law enforcement offices. Four undercover drug agents were shot to
death last month in Nuevo Laredo. Two police officers were
decapitated 10 days ago in the resort city of Acapulco, not long
after taking part in an antidrug operation. Their heads were dumped
beneath a sign warning: "So that you learn to respect."

The escalating conflict has claimed more than 1,500 lives, including
police, rival drug traffickers and civilians in the past year, more
than double the number from the previous year, according to Mexican
researchers. The death toll has risen despite increased enforcement
efforts in Mexico and by U.S. authorities across the border. The
police killings, in particular, are believed to be retribution for a
crackdown on cartels in Mexico undertaken at the urging of U.S.
officials, said Jorge Chabat, an expert in Mexican criminal justice.

Cartels On The Rise

The violence also coincides with the remarkable growth of Mexican
cartels, which have seized a greater share of the drug market.

"Mexico is becoming the second Colombia," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-
Texas, whose district includes Laredo, across the border from Nuevo
Laredo. "This is a serious and a ruthless situation."

Mexico's drug cartels have grown bolder as their profits have grown
larger, Chabat said. Mexican drug traffickers generate as much as $10
billion a year.

Mexico has had some successes in combating cartels. In the past five
years, the leaders of the powerful Sinaloa and Gulf cartels have been
arrested. But those victories have been muted by the failings of the
Mexican justice system, Chabat said. The leader of the Sinaloa
cartel, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, escaped from prison in 2001, and the
leader of the Gulf cartel, Osiel Cardenas, is suspected of running
his organization from the prison cell he has occupied since 2003.

"The Mexican government has been very effective in making arrests,
but the rest of the criminal justice system -- the prisons and the
judiciary -- is very inefficient and very corrupt," Chabat said.

The imprisonment of Cardenas set off a struggle between the Gulf and
Sinaloa cartels for "la plaza" -- Mexican slang for drug turf. Each
cartel is suspected of co-opting law enforcement officials -- and
killing or intimidating those who don't go along -- to achieve their
goal of controlling lucrative smuggling routes. But with Cardenas in
prison, the Gulf cartel is at a disadvantage.

Cuellar applauds Mexico for responding with forceful measures, such
as sending troops last year to quell drug violence in Nuevo Laredo.
But with the violence persisting, he accuses Mexico of not being
receptive enough to recent U.S. offers to help.

There have been signs that the two nations are collaborating more
closely. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
flew to Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexican border, to announce a plan
to increase cooperation with Mexican drug authorities.

Just two weeks later, the four undercover drug agents in Nuevo Laredo
were killed. The killings were seen as a setback for Mexican drug
authorities. But they were soon eclipsed by the shock of the
beheadings in Acapulco.

The heads were discovered April 20 outside a government building not
far from the beaches that draw tens of thousands of U.S. tourists each year.

Spreading Violence

The killings, coupled with grenade attacks on police stations in
neighboring cities, were graphic reminders that drug violence has
spread beyond the border and into the port and beach towns where
drugs enter the country before being funneled north.

"We can't believe this is happening," said Mario Nunez Magana,
spokesman for the Acapulco police. "This used to happen just up at
the border. Here, we were only about tourism."

The slain officers, whose bodies were found wrapped in plastic miles
away from their heads, had participated several months earlier in a
shootout that left four suspected drug gang members dead. On Tuesday,
less than a week after the gruesome discoveries, the Mexico City
newspaper Excelsior posted a video on its website that it said showed
one of the officers killing a gang member execution-style during that shootout.

The newspaper's scoop was a big deal for a few hours. But soon there
was more drug violence to talk about: another police officer gunned
down in Nuevo Laredo.

There was no comment from Nuevo Laredo's police chief because there
is no Nuevo Laredo police chief. The interim chief, named after his
predecessor was assassinated last year, quit a month ago. No one else
wants the job.