Mexico’s new plan to fight the war against drugs

World Today

Mexico has new plans for fighting the war against drugs.

CCTV’s Martin Markovits reports from Mexico City.

Some in Mexico say that General Fermin Hernandez has one of the toughest jobs in the world. He is the first military official in charge of Mexico’s center for crime- fighting known as CENAPI.

In that role, Hernandez sets goals for national strategy and intelligence gathering to fight narco trafficking, a scourge that has given Mexico a notorious reputation.

During his tenure, he has seen everything from mass graves to pounds of cocaine and heroin heading to the border.

Last year, the government reported that between 2007 and 2014 more than 164,000 people were victims of homicide.

But the violence associated with the drug war has decreased. According to Mexico’s statistics agency known as the INEGI, homicides decreased by nearly 15 percent and kidnappings decreased by 22 percent from 2013 to 2014.

General Hernandez believes the drop in homicides is due to a new offensive by the government to apprehend the drug gangs, which has resulted in the successful recapture of the country’s most notorious narco boss, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

One analyst, however, says the decrease in violence is also a result of U.S. involvement to combat the problem. The U.S. government has provided nearly 1.5 billion for training equipment and technical assistance that has improved Mexico’s security and judicial system.