US Agents to Embed With Mexican Drug Police

The US has hatched a plan to embed American intelligence agents in Mexican police units for the first time, in an effort to hunt down drug cartel leaders. In the past, the US has hesitated to share intelligence with Mexican police, viewing them as largely corrupt and incompetent. To avoid those pitfalls, the agents will work with recent graduates of the federal police academy, where FBI and DEA advisers now help train recruits, the Washington Post reports.

The US may also give specially vetted Mexican agents more access to its drug intelligence centers. It's a major departure from past policy, but the Obama administration views Mexico’s mounting drug violence as a security threat, and Felipe Calderon’s government as an ally. “The idea is to take our full technological and human capabilities and put them at the service of a willing partner to address a crisis situation,” says one senior US official. (More Mexico stories.)