Mexican troops fan out across state hit by drug war

Mexico Has become such a joke , the Military is in no way Discouraging the Cartels , the Body count has hit double digits regularly , and everyone in Mexico is still Afraid of doing anything ! And at the same time we are being told that Mexico is a wonderful place to go right now ! good old tourist disinformation !

NUEVA ITALIA, Mexico (Reuters) - Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers set up roadblocks on major highways in the home state of President Felipe Calderon on Saturday where drug gangs have stepped up attacks on Mexican security forces.

Troops toting automatic weapons and wearing ski masks to shield their identity searched vehicles in the western marijuana-growing state of Michoacan for signs of drug smuggling after the government ordered 5,500 soldiers and police deploy by land, sea and air to the area.

The surge, one of the biggest in the three-year drug war, came after drug gangs targeted federal police in recent days in retaliation for the capture of a high-ranking member of the local La Familia (The Family) cartel.

In a brazen move last week, the cartel dumped the tortured and blood-smeared bodies of 12 police in a heap by a remote highway -- the latest victims of tit for tat violence that has killed some 12,800 people since Calderon took office in 2006.

A video allegedly showing the policemen being stripped, beaten and executed was briefly posted on YouTube, reported El Universal newspaper.

"We've reached a point where the local authorities are tapped out, and so unfortunately it's necessary to call in extra forces to try and restore the peace to Michoacan," said Gerardo Gomez a resident of the capital city Morelia where suspected drug gang hitmen threw two grenades into a packed crowd celebrating Mexico's independence day last September.

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