Disrupting the cartels

Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.

The Mexican government has been intensely fighting drug cartels since President Felipe Calderón was elected in 2006. The fight is estimated to have cost 15,000 lives. Hundreds of police officers, soldiers, judges and innocent civilians have been among the victims as rival gangs fight one another and the authorities.

A complaint heard in recent months from Mexican officials is that the United States has been largely sitting out the fight, even though the violence has spread across the border.

Also, Americans are the cartels’ biggest customers by far and most of the weapons used in the killings come from American gun shops.

The Obama administration responded to the complaint this year by sending more federal agents to the border and launching investigations of borderland gun dealers.

Under the radar, however, a U.S. Justice Department operation — called Project Coronado — had been under way since 2006, gathering intelligence on La Familia (The Family), one of the most vicious cartels in Mexico. The operation sprang into the public eye last week when more than 3,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers raided La Familia networks in 19 states, including Nevada.

More than 300 people were arrested, and more arrests are expected. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference that the “toxic reach of (La Familia’s) operations extend to nearly every state within our country.”

Holder said Project Coronado has resulted in the seizure of $32 million in American currency, 2,700 pounds of methamphetamine, 4,400 pounds of cocaine, 16,000 pounds of marijuana, 29 pounds of heroin and 389 weapons.

We hope Project Coronado, which started under the Bush administration and has resulted in 1,186 arrests, shows Mexico that our country can and will assist in disrupting the cartels. The drug networks have destroyed thousands of lives apart from those destroyed by their violence.

We need to keep after those who are bringing such tragedy into our country.