Mexico's Calderon vows to escalate war on crime

Mexico's new President Felipe Calderon promised last 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 organised 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.

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.