Police Disarmed in Drug Inquiry

Mexican soldiers have disarmed the entire local police force of a seaside resort near the US border after a failed attempt to kill the police chief raised suspicions that it had been infiltrated by drugs traffickers. It is the latest attempt by the federal government to curb organized crime, which has claimed more than 2,500 lives this year.

The guns from the El Rosarito force will be tested to see if they were used in recent crimes, including an incident in which hooded gunmen walked through the local security chief's offices shooting out computers and telephones, and leaving one person dead. The officers will also undergo "trust tests" expected to include lie-detector sessions and drug screening.

The security chief and local mayor have been assigned personal security entourages of dozens of soldiers, while the army has taken over everyday patrolling duties in the town of 160,000 next to Tijuana.

"We recognize that the enemy is inside our house and for this reason we are purging our ranks," the head of the state police, Daniel de la Rosa, told reporters.

President Felipe Calderón has promised to reclaim state institutions controlled, or bitterly fought over, by drug trafficking groups. Since taking office a year ago he has sent more than 25,000 soldiers to hot spots, paying special attention to municipal police forces which have proved vulnerable to infiltration.

But the crackdown has not quelled the violence. The newspaper El Universal has put the total of execution-style murders for 2007 at 2,673, 20% more than 2006.