Mexico's Fox predicts backlash in drug war (as drug lords are soon to be extradited to US)

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico will begin extraditing drug lords wanted in the United States within weeks and expects a violent backlash from the powerful cartels, President Vicente Fox said on Wednesday.

Fox told Reuters the legal process of handing over traffickers on the U.S. government's list had already begun.

"I am confident and convinced that very soon, and I am talking about weeks, we will start the first extraditions of these leaders," Fox said.

"I am sure that will provoke additional violence. ... They will try to retaliate," he said. "It could be judges, it could be government officials, but we will be ready."

Fox, a close ally of the United States, did not say who would be extradited first, or how many, but stressed they were "the big bosses."

He also said they would have to serve their sentences in U.S. prisons. That marks a major policy shift because until recently under Mexican law, drug traffickers had to serve out their prison sentences in Mexico before being put behind bars in the United States.

The United States has been pressing for the extradition of drug kingpins for years but Mexican legislation made it difficult.

Fox said the impending action against traffickers followed a series of Supreme Court rulings that have made extraditions easier.

More than 1,000 people were killed in drug violence across Mexico last year. Cities along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S. border, including Nuevo Laredo, have seen pitched battles between rival gangs, including one with bazookas and machine guns.

"I can tell you that without a doubt the Mexican drug trafficking organizations are the most violent, they have the biggest gangs, they are ruthless and they are very well run businesses," a senior official from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in Mexico this week.

Fox drew a parallel between Mexico and Colombia, where the Medellin cocaine cartel declared war on the government in the 1980s in response to a decision to extradite cartel leaders to the United States.

Hundreds of people died in bombings and assassinations until Colombian police tracked down and killed Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellin cartel.

Colombia was successful in fighting the drug lords, Fox said. "I am sure we will be successful, too."

Fox's government has had high-profile successes in the anti-drug fight, including the arrests of cartel leaders Benjamin Arellano Felix, Osiel Cardenas and Hector Palma, accused of shipping tons of cocaine to the United States.

But many of the top traffickers have continued to run their organizations from prison.

"We have implemented very strict controls in federal jails where these capos (bosses) are," Fox said. "Still, they do operate from Mexico and the real price to pay in justice is if they are extradited."

Despite hundreds of arrests and record seizures on both sides of the border, drugs have continued to pour into the United States and cocaine, heroin and marijuana are widely available in American cities.

In its latest report on international drug trafficking, issued last month, the U.S. State Department said between 70 and 90 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States passed through Mexico.

By the way, DD, would you by any chance know if any of the Mexicans that the International Criminal Court, (ICC) said had to have a new trial, have been executed? These 50 Mexicans were all on death row for different crimes.

I remember that but I haven't heard anything more about it. All of their cases had to be reviewed, right?

If I find out anything about that I'll FReep mail you.

Look pal.
Mexico has a few serious problems. 1st is a lack of jobs for its populace. Instead of taking care of its folks Mexico simply sends its people north for jobs. I'd probably be one of those trying to come north to get a job to take care of my family if in the same situation.
Corruption is rampant and has been ingrained into every institution.
It is not my responsibility to pay for every illegals medical bills but that seems to be the attitude.
Mexico won't allow illegals from south of that country to enter and leach off the Mexicans, why should we here have to?
Narcotics is serious and your attitude is well you Americans have that demand thing going for you. Well it destroys your govt.
Mexicans are some of the hardest working son of a guns I've ever seen and I have no problem with them here IF the came here legally. Most aren't here legally.
I can go on pal but I don't figure it will do any good.
Lastly I'll say that a disproportionate percentage of crimes here are a result of illegals and blacks.

Colombia was successful in fighting the drug lords, Fox said. "I am sure we will be successful, too."

I wasn't aware that any significant dent had been made in the Colombian cocaine trade. In any case, somebody has been successful in getting tens of billions of dollars worth of cocaine into the US:

The demand for both powdered and crack cocaine in the United States is high. Among those using cocaine in the United States during 2000, 3.6 million were hardcore users who spent more than $36 billion on the drug in that year.

--http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs07/794/cocaine.htm

Ha! Would you blame Vincente's team when he made the following asinine and outrageous comment:

"There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States," he said in a speech broadcast in part on local radio and reported on newspaper web sites.

If "lighting a light" would stop this dim bulb, then we'd be home free wrt Illegal immigration. Fox is pushing for Open Borders, which is totally unacceptable.

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