In 2006, when Felipe Calderón was inaugurated President of Mexico, he promised to aggressively fight the drug cartels that had long been waging war in the streets of Mexican cities. Three years later, drug turf wars continue to escalate in violence and have claimed the lives of 14,000 people since December 2006.  

We talk to two guests who describe extra-judicial attempts to fight the cartels, as people turn to vigilante justice to protect themselves. Dudley Althaus is Mexico City bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle; Diana Washington Valdez is a reporter with the El Paso Times. Both journalists speak about the ongoing violence and attempts to hold it back.

President Obama is in Mexico today for meetings with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. There's a lot on the agenda and The Takeaway has got a range of voices weighing in on NAFTA, border security and the swine flu. Bret Caldwell is a Director of Communications with the Teamsters Union, Ioan Grillo is a reporter in Mexico City with Time Magazine, and Diana Washington-Valdez is a reporter with the El Paso Times who focuses on US and Mexico border security.

Watch Mexico's President Felipe Calderón welcoming President Obama to Mexico (in Spanish and English)

President Obama has appointed former U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin to the newly-created position of "Border Czar." Bersin will lead the effort to stop drug-related violence along the U.S.–Mexico border. The Takeaway talks to Amita Sharma an investigative reporter with KPBS, San Diego Public Radio, who has been following Bersin's career. And for more on what's needed along the border, we're joined by Diana Washington-Valdez, a reporter with the El Paso Times who is author of the forthcoming book, "Mexican Roulette: Last Cartel Standing".

Mexico’s drug war is flaring up and in some U.S. border towns, residents say they fear a wave of bloodshed is headed their way. The Takeaway talks to journalist Diana Washington Valdez, author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated El Paso Times series “Death Stalks the Border" and the forthcoming book, “Mexican Roulette: Last Cartel Standing.”

For more from Diana Washington Valdez, check out her blog.

Discovery en Espanol made a haunting documentary on the murders in Juarez featuring the work of Diana Washington Valdez. Below is part one via Youtube: