Mexicans march against drug violence

More than 35,000 people have died in Mexico's drugs conflict

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MEXICO'S DRUGS WAR

• Agent's murder: Impact on US-Mexico ties
• Analysing the murder figures
• Q&A: Drug violence
• Battling the cartels

Protest marches have been held in more than 20 cities across Mexico against the drug-related violence sweeping the country.

Thousands of people joined the protest in the main square in Mexico City, chanting "no more blood".

Some called for President Felipe Calderon to resign, saying his strategy had exacerbated the bloodshed.

As the marches got under way, at least 59 bodies were found in a mass grave in Tamaulipas state.

Around 35,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon began deploying the army to fight the the cartels in December 2006.

The demonstrations were inspired by the poet and journalist Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed last week.

Mr Sicilia has blamed Mexican politicians as well as criminal gangs for the violence, saying they have "torn apart the fabric of the nation".

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Analysis

Julian MiglieriniBBC News, Mexico City

It is one of the first occasions that Mexicans, in their thousands and simultaneously around the country, have taken to the streets to protest against the violence of the so-called "drugs war".

At the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, the chant most often made was "No more blood!". A diverse crowd - families, union members, young people and elderly citizens - expressed their frustration with the increasing number of innocent civilians killed in the battle between drug cartels and the security forces.

Many demonstrators carried banners calling for President Felipe Calderon to quit, since - they said - his strategy against organised crime was not working.

Small demonstrations were also held in New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Madrid and other cities around the world.

Pain

Javier Sicilia called for the protests after his 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was found dead inside a car along with six other people in the city of Cuernavaca last week.

In an open letter to Mexico's politicians and criminals published in Proceso, he said President Calderon's campaign against the drugs gangs was "badly planned, badly carried out and badly led".

"The citizenry has lost confidence in its governors, its police, its army, and is afraid and in pain".

Mr Sicilia also condemned the criminals as "subhuman, demonic and imbecilic".

"We have had it up to here with your violence, your loss of honour, your cruelty and senselessness," he wrote.

Before joining the demonstrations, Mr Sicilia met President Calderon in Mexico City.

He said the president offered his condolences and briefed him on efforts to find his son's killers.

Mass grave

The Mexican government says it is making progress against the drug cartels, and has captured or killed many of their top leaders.

Javier Sicilia says Mexicans have had enough

It says much of the bloodshed is the result of fighting between rival criminal gangs.

This view was echoed by the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, at an international conference in the Mexican City of Cancun on Wednesday.

"It may seem contradictory, but the unfortunate level of violence is a sign of success in the fight against drugs," the DEA chief said.

The cartels "are like caged animals, attacking one another," she added.

In the latest violence, security forces in the northern state of Tamaulipas, on the US border, found a mass grave containing at least 59 bodies, officials said.

Initially, the grave in the township of San Fernando was said to contain about 40 bodies.

The human remains were uncovered in the same area where the bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were found last August.

Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody confrontations between rival drugs gangs who also exploit migrants heading to the US.