Mexican Gunmen Kill Third Mayor in a Month as Drug War Escalates

By Jonathan J. Levin - Sep 8, 2010 11:21 PM CT
bloomberg
Gunmen killed the mayor of a town in northern Mexico as he sat at his desk, the third politician slain in the past month as drug-related violence escalates.

President Felipe Calderon, in a statement yesterday, “energetically condemned” the murder of Alexander Lopez, mayor of El Naranjo in San Luis Potosi state. Officials didn’t offer a motive or arrest any suspects, though Lopez was murdered in a part of the country disputed by rival drug gangs.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that Mexican cartels are starting to deploy “insurgency” tactics like car bombings that were once a hallmark of the war of terror used against Colombia’s government.

“It’s looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, where the narcotraffickers controlled certain parts of the country,” Clinton said in Washington at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mexico’s national security spokesman Alejandro Poire disputed Clinton’s comments and said the country was not at risk of losing control of its territory as happened in Colombia.

The U.S. has pledged $1.3 billion in anti-narcotics aid to Mexico under the Merida Initiative and Clinton said she gave Calderon “very high marks” for his courage in taking on the cartels.
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There are so many reasons to legalize drugs, like how much money it would save if we didn't imprison people for victimless crimes and how so much money could be made by taxing what people seem to get their hands on anyway, tax free. No matter how many reasons you can think of for legalizing drugs, there is one that should rise above all of them. It would completely screw over these murdering drug cartels.
No one would need them anymore. It would strip them of their power, they would be nothing. Do you think Hillary will stick her neck out and even suggest that? No way, she hasn't got the balls! So to speak.