Mexico Makes Strong Moves to Quell Drug Violence

DAVID MAUNG / Associated Press

A caravan of Federal Preventive Police leaves a military airbase after arriving in the city to take part in an expanding fight against organized drug trafficking in Tijuana Tuesday.Mexican President Felipe Calderón's administration announced a major offensive yesterday against organized crime in Baja California, dispatching nearly 3,300 soldiers and federal agents to the state.Operación Tijuana will involve sea and air surveillance and intense patrolling, including roadblocks, of high-crime neighborhoods.“We will spare neither efforts nor resources to fight crime in order to re-establish minimum conditions of order and authority,” Secretary of Interior Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuña said during a news conference in Mexico City.The campaign will start in Tijuana, a popular spot for smuggling cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. The state's largest city also has become increasingly violent. It had 353 homicides last year, out of 527 total statewide, according to the Baja California Attorney General's Office. Operación Tijuana will focus on homicides, kidnapping and drug and arms trafficking, authorities said.Mexico's Defense Secretariat alone is sending 2,620 soldiers, 21 airplanes, nine helicopters, 28 boats, 247 vehicles and a canine unit. The Mexican navy is sending high-speed boats and helicopters to intercept criminals along the coast.