Mexican Drug Traffickers Break Out of Jail Whenever They Want

As if you needed another reason to wince in exasperation at the total failure of each and every ongoing drug enforcement effort in Mexico, here we go again.

Just as Mexican authorities are struggling to put drug traffickers in prison, Mexican prisons are struggling to keep them there. Hundreds of dangerous inmates have escaped from state penitentiaries along the U.S. border in recent months, some through spectacular action-movie breakouts, others by simply walking out the door.
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"I lock them up, and they let them out," President Felipe Calderon said in frustration, blaming local officials. [Washington Post]

Honestly, I've run out of words to describe the absurdity of the situation and I can't even imagine the thought processes that guide those who still pretend we're proceeding towards any sort of resolution to this epic fiasco. Apparently, some of those people are getting irritated with Obama for failing to clean up the mess, as though we had these narco-thugs surrounded when Bush left office:

Both Mexican and American officials, who say the two countries have never worked closer in fighting crime, are facing growing pressure to prove that their strategy is working. With Republicans now in control of the House of Representatives, the Obama administration will face renewed scrutiny to account for the $1.4 billion, multiyear Merida Initiative, the cornerstone of American aid in Mexico’s drug fight.  [New York Times]

I don't know what anyone expected, but it's definitely time we start scrutinizing our massive drug war budget expenditures, even if such inquiries are initiated merely to advance a partisan political agenda. It really is incredible to witness the redundancy of the drug war dialogue in Washington, but the Merida Initiative's dismal legacy will be difficult to salvage by any measure. When proposals inevitably emerge to double-down on our investment in Mexico's blood-stained drug war debacle, it should become clear to everyone that this idiocy knows no bounds.