Thousands of Mexican soldiers pour into the country's most violent city in crackdown on drug gangs Armed to the hilt, they came from land and air, determined to restore order to Mexico's most violent city.
Nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers and armed federal police poured into the border town of Ciudad Juarez last weekend.
The city - just across from El Paso in Texas - has been ravaged by drug gangs. Just this month 250 people were killed there by hitmen fighting for lucrative smuggling routes.
War zone: Federal police check their guns as they get ready to board a plane from Mexico City to the lawless border town of Ciudad Juarez
Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday
The soldiers' mandate is clear - and ambitious.
'This is to reinforce the operation in general ... to eradicate kidnappings, extortion, assaults and homicide,' army spokesman Enrique Torres said.
The soldiers are the first contingent of as many as 5,000 troops and federal police being sent to Juarez.
The deployment is part of a five thousand man troop increase planned for this city - given the unlucky title of Mexico's most violent
The soldiers and police were flown in by air as well as driven in
Almost 2,500 soldiers and federal police have been there for nearly a year, but they have failed to curb the violence plaguing the city of about 1.6 million people.
President Felipe Calderon's military operation is supported by the United States, which is concerned the violence could destabilize Mexico, a key trading partner, and spill over the border.
Mexico has deployed some 45,000 troops across the country to try to crush drug gangs, but clashes between rival cartels and security forces killed around 6,000 people last year.
Between federal police and Mexican Army soldiers up to 2,000 law enforcement officers swarmed the streets of Juarez over the weekend to join the 2,500 already there - and there are more to come
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has vowed to keep up the pressure on the drug cartels
Posted By: Devon Marshall
Tuesday, June 9th 2009 at 10:07AM
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