Calderon: Military stays in drug fight until police are "reliable"

Aug 20, 2010, 4:04 GMT

Mexico City - Mexican President Felipe Calderon said he wanted the military to continue its involvement in the fight against drug lords until the end of his term in 2012.

By then, Calderon said late Thursday at a meeting with Congress leaders, a professional and efficient police force should be created.

The military was needed until police was 'reliable, efficient, well organized and equipped,' he said. Tens of thousands of soldiers are now engaged in the drug war, in particular in the northern part of Mexico.

Until such forces were available, the support of the military was needed, or the Mexican people would be further subjected to crime, Calderon said.

The remarks followed three weeks of talks with about the country's precarious security situation with politicians as well as representatives of the church and civil society, at a time when Mexico is reeling from the latest spectacular drug-related crime.

The abduction and murder of Edelmiro Cavazos, the mayor of Santiago, a tourist town near Mexico's wealthiest city of Monterrey, has sent shock waves through the country.

The 38-year-old was abducted Sunday by a gang of gunmen. His bound body was found Wednesday by the side of the road, showing signs of torture. It is believed he was killed because he refused to cooperate with drug gangs operating in the area.

Mourners in Santiago protested the government's inability to fight the violence and called on the state governor to resign.

Several suspects, most of them members of the local police force, have been detained.

Calderon, calling for increased police salaries and better equipment, said less than half of the 430,000-strong police force was equipped for the fight against the drug gangs, whose firepower was constantly increasing.

In what he admitted was a breach of the country's legal tradition, Calderon also suggested appointing anonymous judges, to protect them from revenge acts.

He advocated an overhaul of the justice system, introducing jury trials and witness protection schemes.

At the same time, the president stepped up criticism against the United States' drugs and arms policies. Despite its promises, the US government was not serious in its attempts to clamp down on drug consumption.

According to official figures, some 28,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug wars since Calderon took office in 2004.