Mexico's new President Felipe Calderon promised on Friday to get tough on violent crime by slapping tougher sentences on drug traffickers and other lawbreakers. Calderon said his administration, which took power on Friday, would put together a plan within 90 days to step up the fight against organized crime and clean up a corrupt police force whose officers often work in league with felons.Drug-trafficking gangs have killed almost 3,000 Mexicans in the last two years in a bloody struggle for control of the trade in cocaine and other drugs destined for the United States. "It's not going to be easy or quick, it will take time and will cost a lot of money and even human lives," he told supporters in Mexico City's vast national auditorium, detailing his specific agenda for cracking down on lawbreakers. "I will be at the forefront of this battle. We are going to beat crime."
Many of Mexico's largest cities are plagued by kidnappings, muggings and carjackings, while some rural areas have become drug-trafficking strongholds where local police fear to tread. "Today criminals want to terrorize and immobilize society and the government," said the conservative Calderon. "Let's put an end to the impunity of criminals."