News of growing violence and murder in Mexico was callously thrust upon an open world audience of information curiosity back in 2005, when narcoterrorism raised its sinister head on the U.S. border with Mexico.

In what was essentially to become a war against drug gangs and rivals, the death toll that includes Mexican governing officials, police and military, media professionals, and other innocents would incredibly rise to over 50,000 deaths by 2012.

And the massive world media coverage and government accounts of this nightmarish phenomenon that has spread like a cancer does not necessarily live up to accuracy or relevance.

Although the topics reported in public accounts through the media over the years have gotten considerable attention due to sensationalism, the relevance of the information itself can be fundamentally flawed on the basis of being preliminary and/or incomplete. Much like early denials on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming that this was nothing more than "a few drug deals gone bad." 

The synthesis test, or the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole, cannot be accurately judged without assessing the test of source reliability and content validity.

The current escalated U.S. operations in Mexico come on the heels of a new national security strategy to fight transnational organized crime. Why just now?

One theory suggests "... in 2005 drug smugglers operated outside of the public eye and without much contact with the legitimate Mexico," as discussed by Patrick Corcoran in his column "Shifting Alliances Cannot Halt Decline of Mexico Cartels" (InSight, Feb. 21, 2012).  Whereas today organized drug trafficking organizations and many splinter groups have significantly increased acts of extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, carjacking and other violent crimes - however, the fact is drug trafficking has flowed like Niagara Falls for decades.

The implacable, relentless and valiant dedication and efforts by the U.S. DEA over the years have been seriously underestimated, plus unappreciated for the most part.  As well, the terms drug war, war on drugs, and related phrases ad nauseam portrayed throughout the world in terms of failure, pose moral questions as to rule of law and national sovereignty.

While many cite drug use in terms of "prohibition," as well as advocate for the hedonistic pleasure of drug use, users, non-users, and all in between are viciously murdered on premise.

The victimization by drug use and drug trafficking, and the violence bred from both, are the real nauseating factors.  The true heroes of the fight must go to those that must ensure that the rule of law prevails, and that human life must be a top priority, regardless of self-indulgency, wealth or other personal perceived "rights" of passage.

The spread of this scourge continues to threaten and challenge government authority, as well as the security of citizens in Mexico, Central America and beyond.  Neighboring countries in the northern cone of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador now have the highest homicide rates in the world.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has been the token whipping boy for judiciously and aggressively confronting this enemy that is destroying the Mexican homeland, instead of closing his eyes like many of those leaders before him that "left well-enough alone."

Although Calderon fully comprehends the inherent drug related elements involved, he has wisely and strategically taken aim at "a war on crime;" albeit with the same militarized approach. Mexico's local policing, for the most part, remains incapable of deploying against the paramilitary style of tactics, armaments and terror-like tradecraft of the drug cartels.

There is little doubt that many Latin Americans feel their biggest fears are a result of violent crime that is rooted within the hemisphere. Many want the drug traffickers left alone, perceiving that the violence will go away if they are not confronted.  Wise governing officials in the path of the violence continue to face perpetrators of the waves of violent crime (that is not necessarily connected to the drug trade) that include mass murder of migrant workers and others as part of the businesses of human trafficking, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.

President Calderon (along with the assistance of the U.S.) has dealt strategic blows to much of the Mexican drug cartel pecking order, forcing considerable splintering into smaller groups and related alliances - that are much like traditional terrorist networks.  Expansion is a concern regarding these smaller cellular groups insofar as they are more maneuverable and insular.

The common agenda for the region, regardless of the who and why nature of the problem, must concentrate on the safety and security of the people and safe streets.   The rule of law must prevail regardless. The fluid movement of transnational criminals must be aggressively confronted and contained, and governments in the path that are part of the solution must be supported.

**Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global threat mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia.  

His website is located at http://www.cjiausa.org/.