Mexico sends troops to U.S. border, officials say - CNN.com MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- The Mexican government has ordered 2,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to a wave of drug-related violence that is blamed for 200 deaths since January, officials announced Thursday.
The troops are expected to depart Friday. The majority will be near the northern border of Mexico, in Juarez.
Juarez sits across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.
Officials said the violence in
Mexico has increased in large part to competing drug cartels.
"In this battle we will show that no criminal group is capable to resist the strength of the Mexican government," Interior Minister Juan Mourino said at a news conference Thursday.
Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan said 2,026 soldiers, 180 military tactical vehicles, three airplanes and more than a dozen drug detection devices would be employed in the military operation.
"Violence, and this needs to be stressed, generates organized crime of drug trafficking," said Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora. "It's not in any way a sign of strength, but a sign of weakness, deterioration and decomposition."