By The Chicago Tribune
Editorial
Jack Riley left El Paso, Texas, to become the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s top man in Chicago. Even though he’s 1,500 miles from the border now, Mexico’s war against drug cartels still matters to him.
It should matter to all of us. More than 90 percent of the marijuana, cocaine and heroin in the Chicago area enters the U.S. from Mexico. Drug rings are expanding into the Midwest to control distribution with violence a good bet to follow.
“If we’re going to be successful, Mexico needs to be successful,” Riley says. “We can’t do it without them.”
Sadly, Mexico is falling short.
Mexico’s occasional triumphs are starting to seem more and more hollow as the death toll of the 4-year-long drug war tops … 30,000. Every day seems to bring another horrific tale — most recently, cameras rolled while masked gunmen mowed down anti-crime activist Marisela Escobedo as she held vigil at the doorstep of the Chihuahua governor’s palace.
If the mayhem continues unabated, we worry that Congress will lose the will to renew the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative — an infusion of U.S. equipment and training to combat international drug trafficking and other organized crime — when it expires in about a year.
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