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The War Just Across The Border

CBS Evening News: Bloody Battle For Control Of Lucrative Smuggling Routes Into U.S.

TIJUANA, Jan. 28, 2009 | by Bill Whitaker

The drug war south of the border is intensifying: in just the first month of this year, hundreds of people have been murdered. (CBS)

Gang Slayings Soar In Mexico
Warning: Graphic Content. Mexicans have seen almost 5,400 gang slayings this year, 1,200 more than all the U.S. military casualties in 5 years of war in Iraq. Bill Whitaker reports.

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Mexico Biggest Crime Threat To U.S.?
12 Decapitated Bodies Found In Mexico

(CBS) To show they're making headway against the hyper-violent drug cartels, soldiers in Tijuana trumpeted their latest big arrest: Stew Man - a cartel lieutenant who confessed to disposing of 300 bodies by dissolving them in vats of acid, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

But there's even more evidence the cartels are operating with near impunity as they wage bloody battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the U.S. It's only 28 days into the new year and already there have been 400 drug-related slayings across Mexico.

Last year ended with a grisly flourish: 12 soldiers were found decapitated with this note: "For every one of us you kill, we'll kill 10."

"These criminal kingpins are not afraid of government authority," said Rand Corp. terror expert Brian Jenkins. "They're willing to take it on directly.â€