Mexican Drug War: Sometimes, the drug cartels decide who gets arrested

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- Records obtained by The Associated Press suggest that arrests touted by Mexico in its war against drug cartels frequently unravel for lack of evidence, and suspects are released.

The records show 226,667 arrests between December 2006 and
September 2009. Less than a quarter of that number were charged and only 15 percent saw a verdict. The Mexican attorney general's office won't say how many were found guilty.

In what's practically a daily ritual, accused drug traffickers
and assassins, shackled and bruised from beatings, are paraded before the news media to show that Mexico is winning its drug war. Once the television lights dim, however, about three-quarters of them are let go.(AP)