Tijuana's Top Cop Wages War on Drug Gangs

(CBS)  Attending funerals is a growing part of Tijuana police chief Julian Leyzaola's job.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports that 28 officers have been killed so far this year -- double last year's toll -- in an escalating war against rich, ruthless drug cartels.

"When an officer dies, you feel the weight of the death," Leyzaola said. For Leyzaola, there's an extra burden -- cartel killers threaten to murder five officers a week until he leaves office.

"To even consider that would make me an accomplice of the cartels," he said. "I will never resign."

More of Bill Whitaker's Mexico Coverage
Border Wars, 2006
Brutal Drug War Fueled by U.S. Appetite
Mexico: U.S. Must Stop Gun Trade At Border

This wasn't what he expected when we met him a year ago. New on the job, the former army Lt. Colonel was gunning for the drug gangsters.

"If the cartels only understand the language of violence, then we are going to have to speak in their language and annihilate them," Leyzaola said last year.

Easier said than done. Leyzaola soon realized he didn't just have to clean up the drug criminals off the streets. He had to clean them out of his own police department. He says he investigated all 2,200 officers; 460 were fired or, like some officers, jailed for having ties to drug cartels.

Small Town Drug Smuggling

"We have prosecuted commanders, chiefs, officers, those who served as the eyes and ears of the drug cartels in the department," Leyzaola said. "We have declared war against these criminals. They must understand, to face a cop is to face their enemy."

Flush with drug profits, the cartels have more fire power than ever; an anti-aircraft gun was seized from gangsters near Mexico City. They're more brazen than ever. In central Mexico, cartel thugs dressed as police broke 50 inmates out of a high security prison -- then drove off in police cars. In Michoacan, they tortured and killed 12 federal agents and piled their bodies by the road. This year in Juarez, the world's deadliest city, urban warfare between rival gangs has taken at least 2,469 lives. That's 862 more lives than last year's grisly record of 1,607 drug-related killings.

Tunnels Used to Smuggle Drugs
Interview in Spanish with Tijuana police chief Julian Leyzaola
Interview with Alberto Diaz-Cayeros

In Tijuana, while Leyzaola was rebuilding his police department, the cartels were building too -- six drug tunnels discovered under the U.S.-Mexican border in the last year.

CBS News got an exclusive look at one of them. It's about 33 feet deep, and 166 feet long. Authorities caught and stopped the cartels just 50 feet short of the U.S. border.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

As for Leyzaola, he always travels with 15 body guards, all the time.

After a cartel tried and failed to bribe him, it tried to kill him. Using military uniforms and camouflaged vehicles, they'd planned to blow up police headquarters. The foiled plot was the fourth attempt to assassinate him.

"I'm fighting for Mexico. I will continue fighting until my last days," he said.

Fighting a war that seems to have no end.

[independent_midwesterner]

This guy is on the drug dealers payroll. This is just a media stunt!!

[rwsmith29456]

I'm glad there are people trying to fight this, but I fear for his life.

[culturechang]

He just signed his own death warrant.

[riellehunter]

Tijuana police chief Julian Leyzaola is corrupt too,nothings going to change in mexico.he's taking money from the dealers and using it for his own pleasures nice homem boat not somrthing you get with police wages

[guest173]

this drug problem seems out of hand, they should re-think their educational system to see how to instill some values and hope for a better future than drug cartels offer. part of it also may be a cultural tolerance to it, education could help, starting with a good quality pre-school. I think Mexico charges for its schools, they should offer high quality public schools for free, teach them while they are young that there's more to life

[BeachBuzz]

It was just recently that IQ Squared U.S Debate At New York University
debated if the United States was to blame for the Mexican Drug War. As always in all U.S. debates the audiance votes once in the beginning and again in the end. On the 1st vote 43% agreed,22% disagreed and 35% were undecided. At the end those numbers changed to 72% in favor, 22% against and 6% undecided. We have been fighting a "War On Drugs" for over forty years with nothing to show but thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of peoples lives and familys destroyed and untold trillions of TAX DOLLARS WASTED. Last year we spent 42 billion fighting this madness. Incidently, it was estimated that the drug cartels in Mexico alone made 42 Billion. Tax and Regulate for those 21 and over as we did alcohol. People are not going to change behavoirs because something is prohibited. Those that are doing prohibited things now will be the same ones that will do them legally. Kids can now get drugs easier than beer , why ? because dealers do not ask for I.D. As far as the gentleman above. It will be a shame that such a courageous man should lose his life as all those before him. America can stop a majority of the violence today by repealling Prohibition. Do we need to relive the 20's ?

[us_1776]

Well stated. Prohibition has been the #1 cause of violence in America. The drug dealers and drug gangs kill thousands in their 'turf' wars. If we stopped the prohibition we could rescue these kids from a life of gangs and crime and turn them into productive citizens. We could deny the drug kingpins their billions which they turn around and turn into weapons and violence. We could start taxing these drugs and start filling the treasury with revenue. The U.S. learned this lesson back in the 1920's and 1930's with alcohol prohibition. Why we unlearned this lesson is beyond comprehension.

[rwsmith29456]

I don't think legalizing drugs like meth, coke or other hard drugs is a good idea. I don't have a problem with marijuana but the hard stuff is known to destroy lives and families The stories they put out about crazed pot addicts was crud, but the hard drugs ARE bad and no one can convince me otherwise. Legalize crack? Yeah, right.

[tedg22]

Legalize and regulate pot in the U.S., 70 to 80 % of the cartels cash cow will go away.

[novamba]

we will not legalize drugs until we are exposed to the violent side that Mexicans and Colombians (among others) have had to endure to fight OUR war on drugs. We demand the drugs and expect for third world countries to live with consequences far more dire than we are aware of or exposed to in our little bubble called the USA.

[Mokkie57]

More proof that the war on drugs is working. What you are seeing in Mexico could be happening right here in america.

[PR_in_Alabama]

Just like the war on terror....dead end streets.....

[novamba]

working for who? are you kidding me? I don't think I've seen a more ridiculous post in months...

[tical90706]

This gentleman is a true hero. It is easy for these cowards in the cartels to target cops in uniform but not as easy for honest cops to root out the corrupt forces amongst them in addition to the criminals themselves. Hopefully, the tide turns not just for the benefit of the Mexican people who are suffering the most in all of this but for the security of American citizens as well...

[dontknowitall]

Now here's a man with a huge responsibility on his shoulders. One would think he'd be better off hiring a few Mercs to handle his light work.