In Anti-Drug Move, Mexico Purges Police

Mexico has dismissed all of its federal police chiefs in an effort to kick-start the country's stalled war on drugs. Corruption within law enforcement is a major factor in the failure of President Felipe Calderon's six-month drug crackdown, the LA Times reports. Six federal officers were arrested this month for allowing a cocaine shipment through the Mexicali airport.

The secretary of public safety would not say why the government replaced the officials; they were to undergo polygraph and drug tests, and their finances were under investigation. They were replaced by officers who passed rigorous screening. Americans spend some $65 billion a year on drugs from Mexico and Colombia, and Calderon wants the US to do more on interdiction. (More Mexico stories.)