Mexican President Calderon will again visit violence-plagued Juarez

Mexican President Felipe Calderon is scheduled to attend a meeting with local, state and federal officials, as well as civic and human rights groups, on Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez, which has been plagued by violence stemming from drug cartels. The killing of 15 people on January 31st in southern Juarez, most of whom were students with no relation to organized crime, gave rise to outrage across the country. The brutal killing is supposed to be result of bad intelligence by a cartel and the gang that carried out the massacre.  President Calderon, who is facing a lot of protests from Juarez residents being asked to resign will be visiting the city for the third time since assuming power in December 2006. Last week in Juarez, Calderon apologized to the families of the 15 people killed and promised people that their input would form part of the strategy against drug-related violence. Residents of Juarez highlighted the growing frustration with Calderon's war against organized crime. Hundreds of people came to the streets on Saturday, holding signs calling Calderon "Assassin."  On Tuesday, Police informed that a business owner and his secretary were found murdered inside a business near southern Juarez. Cartels generally target business owners. Also on Tuesday, as an effort to curtail unlawful street activity, police detained 20 students who skipped class and were drinking in the street.  Violence in Juarez comes amidst hugely increased numbers of homicides across the nation and government's effort to curtail it. Drug cartels battle each other. National media says 7,600 Mexicans lost their lives in the war on drugs in 2009. According to officials, more than 16,000 Mexicans have died since Calderon declared war on the drug cartels shortly after coming into power in December 2006.