Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday. Photo from The Daily Mail.

100,000 Foot Soldiers In Cartels -- Washington Times

Numbers rival Mexican army.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico

The U.S. Defense Department thinks Mexico's two most deadly drug cartels together have fielded more than 100,000 foot soldiers - an army that rivals Mexico's armed forces and threatens to turn the country into a narco-state.

"It's moving to crisis proportions," a senior U.S. defense official told The Washington Times. The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of his work, said the cartels' "foot soldiers" are on a par with Mexico's army of about 130,000.

The disclosure underlines the enormity of the challenge Mexico and the United States face as they struggle to contain what is increasingly looking like a civil war or an insurgency along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the past year, about 7,000 people have died - more than 1,000 in January alone. The conflict has become increasingly brutal, with victims beheaded and bodies dissolved in vats of acid.

Read more ....

More News On Mexico's Cartel War

Cartels 'on par' with Mexican army -- The Australian
Mexico Sending More Forces to Ciudad Juarez -- Los Angeles Times
Thousands of Mexican soldiers pour into the country's most violent city in crackdown on drug gangs -- Daily Mail
Gates: US Military Could Help Mexico Fight Drug Cartels -- U.S. Department of Defense
ATF warns spring breakers against Mexico travel -- AP
College students advised to avoid northern Mexico -- Sign On San Diego
In Praise of Mexico's War on Drugs -- Wall Street Journal opinion

My Comment: Death Tolls from violence for January,2009:

200 killed in Afghanistan.
400 killed in Iraq.
1,000 killed in Mexico.

Mexico is more deadlier in its drug/cartel war than Iraq and Afghanistan combined.