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Aug 8, 2010 9:52 pm US/Eastern
Ex-Mexico President Fox Calls For Legalizing Drugs
MEXICO CITY (AP)

Former President Vicente Fox is joining with those urging his successor to legalize drugs in Mexico, saying that could break the economic power of the country's brutal drug cartels.

Fox's comments, posted Sunday on his blog, came less than a week after President Felipe Calderon agreed to open the door to discussions about the legalization of drugs, even though he stressed that he remained opposed to the idea.

Fox said places that have implemented the legalization strategy have not seen significant increases in drug use.

"We should consider legalizing the production, distribution and sale of drugs," said Fox, who was president from 2000 to 2006 and is a member of Calderon's National Action Party.

"Legalizing in this sense does not mean drugs are good and don't harm those who consume them," he wrote. "Rather we should look at it as a strategy to strike at and break the economic structure that allows gangs to generate huge profits in their trade, which feeds corruption and increases their areas of power."

He said the government could tax the sale of legalized drugs to finance programs for reducing addiction and rehabilitating users.

Fox also called for the quick withdrawal of the military from public security work, a measure Calderon ordered when he succeeded Fox in December 2006 and stepped up a crackdown on the cartels.

Fox, who left office with low popularity, has been criticized by some Mexicans for implementing an anti-cartel strategy aimed at arresting the gangs' leaders.

The approach led to power vacuums that fed fighting among rival cartels, bringing violence that has killed more than 28,000 people since Calderon took office. The government says the largest number of victims have been tied to gangs.

The city most affected by drug violence has been Ciudad Juarez, which lies across the border from El Paso, Texas.

Four senior federal police commanders in Ciudad Juarez were removed from their posts after subordinates accused them of having links to drug traffickers.

The action by the Public Safety Department came just hours after 200 federal police officers detained one of their superiors at gunpoint Saturday, alleging he had connections to drug cartels and participated in kidnappings, killings and extortion.

The department said in a statement late Saturday that the commander held by officers earlier in the day was being transferred to Mexico City along with three other officials. All will be investigated for "possible irregular conduct," it