Mexico's drug war isn't working

The killing of three people linked to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez on Saturday forces a rethinking of the situation in Mexico. The government's "war on drugs" isn't working.

The violence, which has taken more than 17,000 lives over the last three years, has invaded the very fabric of Mexico's politics, government and society. It is time for the United States to transform its approach by replacing military aid and blind confidence in Mexico's sitting government with support for public institutions and broader citizen diplomacy. In the end, restoring order depends not on soldiers in the street and strongman tactics but on a more transparent, effective rule of law.

The Mexican government tries to defend its policies by minimizing its failures, arguing that 90 percent of the victims of the escalating violence are criminals. But this tired rhetoric is debunked almost daily by the killings of innocent journalists, human rights activists, students, housewives and maquiladora workers. A month ago, 16 hapless high school students were gunned down at a house party. After first claiming that the victims were most likely gang members, President Felipe Calderon was quickly forced to accept their innocence and issue a public apology for his comments.

Ciudad Juarez is the most violent city in the world: 2,657 homicides (almost 190 per 100,000 inhabitants) were committed during 2009. By comparison, Cali, Colombia, a city three times larger than Juarez and renowned for its urban violence, reported 1,615 homicides last year.

Two years ago, as part of the drug war, the Mexican military took over the Juarez police force, but that has only made the problem worse. The number of homicides has increased tenfold, from an average of 20 killings a month to almost 200, based on data published by Reforma newspaper. The military has proved to be lethargic in responding to emergencies and totally unprepared to investigate crimes. The constant presence of armed soldiers in the streets has worked to intimidate the population and create a generalized culture of fear rather than to scare away the criminals.

Recently, the United Nations Human Rights Commission was particularly tough on Mexico for the dramatic increase in human rights abuses related to the battle with organized crime. It asked hard questions about the use of the military for law enforcement activities and the legal immunity granted to military personnel who commit human rights abuses. It also expressed concern about the continued presence of torture and the increasing use of arbitrary pretrial detention as a strategy to combat crime. All of this while the homicide rate steadily rises.