Despite large expenditures by the authorities, drug violence in Mexico continues

See Mexico’s Failure to Stem Violence Strains Relationship With U.S.: Hundreds of cartel gunmen terrorized the city of Culiacán last week until authorities freed the son of drug lord ‘El Chapo’ by José de Córdoba and Jessica Donati of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The stunning display of violence shows that drug cartels here are as strong as ever nearly 15 years after the Mexican government set about to challenge them head on, often with U.S. assistance. The government has arrested or killed many cartel leaders, weakening many crime groups and fragmenting others.

But the cost has been high. Since 2006, more than 250,000 people have been killed, according to Mexican government figures, most in the bitter internecine war between cartels for control of drug routes and territory. At least 40,000 more have been disappeared, many buried in clandestine graves, some dissolved in acid. From 2007 to 2019 the homicide rate has roughly tripled to 29 per 100,000 people.

Worse, last week’s events could further embolden the gangs to respond to threats by security forces with widespread violence and terror, cow Mexico’s stunned security forces and strain vital intelligence cooperation with the U.S., according to analysts, former and current U.S. officials and former Mexican security officials."

"Mexican and U.S. analysts as well as U.S. officials believe the events in Culiacán underscore Mexico’s broader failure to come up with a viable strategy to face the country’s powerful gangs.

Analysts say Mexico has never paid enough attention to what would be a long-term fix to its security problem: building professional police forces, especially at state and local levels. Instead, Mexico has relied on short-term solutions, leaning on the nation’s armed forces to provide security rather than creating dependable police able to investigate and arrest criminals, and a transparent and efficient judicial system able to convict them."

"Since 2007, the U.S. has provided nearly $2 billion to Mexico to help fight organized crime under the so-called Merida Initiative. The money has been spent on everything from military hardware to capacity building for Mexico’s legal system."