>> this is the journal on dw-tv. i am heather delisle. >> and i am peter dolle with the business news. >> international help arrives in israel to battle raging wildfires. the german parliament passes a monthly welfare increase, sparking a sharp debate. and nasa finds bacteria that redefines our understanding of the building blocks of life. ♪ >> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. 16 countries have sent firefighting teams to israel to help local authorities battle a massive blaze.

the largest fire in israel's history has burned more than 2800 hectares of land already hit by drought. the place to call early on thursday. israel launched an international appeal for help hours later, when it became clear they cannot cope. authorities still do not know how the fire started. 41 people died in the flames. more than 15,000 have had to be evacuated. >> the blaze is encroaching on israel's third largest city with a population of 256,000. the emergency crews are helpless against the tower of flames. the fire already consumed 30 square kilometers of land. this was once an idyllic community nestled in the woods. now it is a wasteland. most residents fled, but if you have remained. >> although we were asked to evacuate, we stayed here to

guard our property. it really hurts us, and people are tied to this place. >> firefighting planes are dropping tons of water over the mountains. months of drought have turn the region into a tinderbox, and strong winds gusting from the mediterranean are fanning the flames. daytime highs average around 30 degrees celsius. the prime minister convened an emergency cabinet meeting. he acknowledged israel cannot cope with such a mass of wildfire on its own. >> this is a terrible event. some of these people died while performing admiral -- admirable acts, sacrificing themselves while attempting to save others. we share the pain of the families. >> he met with an emergency response team from greece. international assistance as a ride from the u.s., russia, and turkey. what firefighting planes, authorities have to have the inferno under control by saturday.

>> earlier, i asked our jerusalem correspondent for an update on the efforts to contain the blaze. >> one of the key issues here is the weather. the strong winds need to calm down. the israeli police commissioner said tonight in a briefing that there was significant improvement, but it is not yet under control. because of the darkness now, some of the air operations have been suspended. we were told by the emergency services that the next 24 hours will be crucial, and they hope to get control of the area by saturday night. >> why wasn't israel prepared to handle a situation like this? >> there's a lot of criticism in the public and the media. a lot of be -- questions being asked. israel and commentators pointed

out there is a lack of specialized firefighting aircraft. the fire and rescue services are also not very well. despite all this criticism and questions today, it is still a day of shock and mourning for those who died in gerberry today. the questions will be dealt with in the coming days and once this fire is under control. >> thank you. the u.s. president has left afghanistan after a brief surprise visit to the country. speaking at the airbase outside kabul, he told troops he was confident it would succeed in their mission and said there were breaking the momentum of the taliban. obama also met wounded soldiers at the base hospital. he talked with afghan president -- talks with afghan president hamid karzai were cancelled due to the bad weather. >> the commander-in-chief in afghanistan for his second visit. he was greeted at the airbase by the commander of nato and american troops, general david petraeus. these are images that may just

help the embattled president at home. talking to troops on a mission that has entered its ninth year but has little popularity among americans. >> this part of the world is the center of a global effort or we're going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist allies. and that is why you're here. >> it planned helicopter trip to kabul to meet afghan president hamid karzai had to be cancelled due to the bad weather. he and obama spoke on the telephone instead. it has been a year since the president launched his new afghanistan strategy, raising troop levels by 30,000. but washington is planning on slowly drawing down its forces as early as next july. >> in ivory coast, the top legal body declared the incumbent president the winner of the disputed west african country's presidential election. the un has rejected the

announcement and says results showed the rival won the race. soldier attacked the main city in an attempt to force the leader out. >> the opposition was shocked at the outcome. despite a solid majority for their candidate, the constitutional council declared the other candidate the winner. supporters declare their outrage. >> the constitutional council cannot replace the independent electoral commission and proclaim the provisional results. that is not its role. >> the opposition accuses the later clinging to power. he postponed elections five times since 2002. international pressure is growing for him to step aside. he declared himself the rightful winner, the independent election commission agrees, giving impetus for reason of the vote. but his income and rival appears to be determined to office.

the constitutional council and called a large chunk of ballots from seven northern districts. that led to violent confrontations with more than a dozen people reported killed. and with the declaration of the victor, tensions are further high end. the army had added force and the curfew is in effect. >> siemens rounding out the week with nice news. >> a decent longtime rivalry, and siemens has actually won. the german engineering group, siemens corporation, has reportedly signed a lucrative agreement worth more than 700 million euros to supply eurostar with trains. it is the sole operator of trains through the channel tunnel, and the company traditionally used alstom. but the request was blocked from finalizing the order with the siemens corporation. >> prices for raw materials and to be exploding at the moment.

oil and still are in big demand worldwide in response to rising economic growth. agricultural commodities are also rising sharply. oil increased steadily in the month of november. brent crude is that nearly $90 a barrel, the highest level since october of 2008. the freezing weather across much of europe has boosted energy demand and fuelled the rise of brent crude. prices are also being pressed higher as the economic recovery gains momentum around the world. metals are also going up in value, soaring from one high to the next. it is not only precious metals such as gold which are appreciating. the price of iron ore has doubled since 2009. metals such as copper cost t year. at the climax of the crisis, and this summer to definite, commodity prices were in the basement. since then, they have been rising consistently. this development also applies to

agricultural products. higher prices for cotton, rubber, and coffee are also contributing to the rising index. analysts say the trend is likely to continue. >> the european stock prices closed lower this friday on a worse than expected u.s. jobs data. arkansas dw-tv correspondent has more on today's trading from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> during the morning trading session, everybody was looking at the index. the dax might hit that, but it did not materialize. the u.s. labor market came in, and it is in worse than expected shape. immediately, investors were selling off shares on the german market. this situation is totally different with volkswagen shares. they could add more than 4% today. on a weekly basis, even more than 6%. it is the prospect as well of more demand for their cars in

the german market and very good demand from the united states. there even a shortening their christmas holiday break. >> and looking at several market indices in more detail, let's start off in frankfurt. the blue-chip dax index ended down. the euro stoxx 50 finished up very small. in new york, investors are moving capital out of stocks and into safer assets. following the release of the miserable jobs data for november. the dow jones industrials closed actually down just a tad, 11,347. the hero is trading for $1.3375. the eu antitrust authorities have raided several pharmaceutical companies on suspicion of colluding to delay the entry of generic drugs into the market. astra zeneca was among those targeted by the european commission. the british swedish company said

that infections at its office is focus on the heartburn drug nexium. i enjoyed thousand 5, astros and the cow was fined 50 million euros for trying to keep a generic drug off of the market. >> thank you. the german parliament has passed a bill that affects the lives of 7 million recipients of long- term unemployment. it increases their monthly payments by five euros to a maximum of 364 euros a month. opposition parties and welfare groups have criticized the increase, saying it is not big enough. the bill has provisions to improve the economic conditions for children in germany who are growing up in poverty. >> two million disadvantaged children should receive more funding for education in the future to improve their employment chances in later life. this is the name of a new program proposed by the german minister for labor and social affairs. under this scheme, an

additional 740 million will be set aside for educational spending. the minister says it will enable social benefits to be distributed more transparently. >> if a child wants to june a sports club or needs a plunger extra help at school -- wants to join a sports club redevelops at school, this one piece of paper is all it takes the opposition says the money is not going where it is really needed. they say the scheme is a mere drop in the ocean considering the lack of investment in education. >> if we really want to draw to the biggest problem in this country, then do not fool around with these small-scale schooling programs that will not really help anyone. start spending money on institutions. >> the government and opposition are in agreement on one point, children of the unemployed to not have to suffer because their parents are dependent on welfare.

>> the eu justice ministers have been meeting in brussels to discuss fighting human trafficking in child pornography. also on the agenda are plans to drop new divorce procedures for binational cos. each of the eu member states have different regulations. whoever files first gets to choose what country's laws government the divorce. the eu wants to change that to the country of residence being the only ones that count. >> when oliver split from his wife, he lost his son. he went to court -- she went to court in her home country of slovakia and custody. in germany, oliver was powerless against the decision. now european justice ministers want to put an end to the legal quadrate mire that some find themselves in. >> it is not about being the quickest and finding a court where an individual things conditions will be most favorable. up until now, it was mainly the

men who acted faster. adding this move will create more justice. >> but it will not be just as applied uniformly across the union. some 14 eu states, including germany, france, and spain, have chosen to opt for a stronger cooperation in this area. others can join in at a later date. >> the choice of what law to apply it lies with the couple. with the dispute, it is at the country were the live. there are a host of mechanisms that simplify the procedure. >> the procedure will come too late for oliver. but one standardize rules are in place across europe, many others might be scared his ordeal. >> much of central europe is still suffering from an early blast of winter with snow and subzero temperatures for testing the week ended up the weather related death toll has reached 45. 30 from poland where temperatures dropped to minus 50 degrees celsius.

most of the victims are homeless. in southern europe, heavy rain causing problems. in bosnia, the river burst its banks. states of emergency have been declared. researcher from the u.s. say nasa has made a discovery that radically change is our understanding of the foundations of organic life. they found bacteria that thrive on arsenic in the california league. the bacteria survive and grow by exchanging phosphorus for arsenic. the find offers new rises in the search for other organisms on earth and beyond. >> the landscape surrounding this lake in california could be from another planet. this unusual environment has become a research lab for nasa scientists. despite containing high levels of the toxic element arsenic, the water is home to bacterial life forms. scientists to bacteria from the lake and rhythm on a diet low in phosphorus and high in our senate. when fed only arsenic, the

bacteria continued to grow. the microbes were incorporating person into their basic cell structure. phosphorous is one of the six basic building blocks of life, along with carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. microbes, fish, mammals, all living organisms exist on the basis of these elements. in the late bacteria, scientists now say they can add a seventh, arsenate. it is a ground-breaking discovery for the scientist in her team of astrobiology arrest. >> if there is an organism on earth doing some different, we have cracked open the door to what is possible for life elsewhere in the universe. >> but not everyone is convinced of the significance of the find. two german scientists that criticized the study for what they called its inconclusive data. as for nasa, the discovery has come at the right time. the agency is facing draconian budget cuts, and the search for

new life could change that. >> you're watching the journal. we will be back in a minute with "in depth." ♪ >> you invest time, ideas, and energy. you always give your very best. and you are mobile. just like us. dw-tv, on your iphone. >> sustainable protection for the earth. new ideas for slowing climate change are coming from all over

the world. a major special series on global 3000. years for clean energy and climate protection projects. global 3000 on dw-tv. >> welcome back. the estonian capital is hosting the 23rd european film awards on saturday. it is the first time the european film academy is presenting the awards in the baltic country. since its inception, the event's organizers have been proud of the european film academy independence and its commitment not to promote the commercial success but to viewing movies as an aspect of european culture. and to underlining the contribution art can make in helping us understand the complexities of the modern world. ♪ >> it is always a glittering event. the european film prizes already been awarded 22 times. stars like these are honorary

members of the european film academy. it is initially known as the felix, the trophy was not well known as the the film industry. nowadays, it is a highly coveted award. the winner is selected by over two thousand film industry people in the ballot. it is similar to the oscars procedure. the european film awards would like to present a credible alternative. >> for the first time ever, one of the nominees in the 17 award categories is from croatia. the young actress is the star of one of the films on show, and it is a move opposed to the heart of the suffering caused by the wars in the balkans in the early 1990's. concerns about ethnic and religious sensibilities make it difficult topic to tackle. critics say this young croatian star has been a brilliant job for trying such a difficult role.

>> the croatian national theater is her second home. she began her acting career here. she knows everyone from the stage hands to the director. at the moment though, she is also involved with making a film. her latest film is the story of luna from sarajevo. the former soldier loses his job and has a breakdown, plagued by memories of the vicious war that broke out as yugoslavia fell apart. she fills the past catching up with her, much like the woman portraying her. >> i was 10 when it started, and the war started in my village in croatia. so my mom, my sister, and me had to run away. because my village was occupied, and we got an apartment for refugees. so the next two years, i was mostly living in a shelter, because there were bombing the

city almost every day. with the war stuff in luna, i did not have any problems because i had it in myself. >> luna returns to her home village where she enjoyed a happy childhood until the war started and drove right. it is a difficult scene for her to play. [cries] >> when we started to prepare this movie, i realized that i have so many areas of myself that are not cleaned. i think that is the biggest problem today in croatia and in bosnia. that is for my generation. because we kind of, you know, we never kind of stood face-to- face to the war thing end the war growing up. >> the international co-

production focuses on the effects of the war on people today. they charged topic was filmed by a european team of bosnians, croatians, germans, and austrians. >> it was funny to speak a little bit of english, a bosnian, german. it felt like a big part of the world. so you felt ok, it is not a bosnian movie. i am doing an international movie. because it is a world topic. >> one of her favorite spots is were the market performers from the villages sell their produce. everyone here knows her these days now that she is famous abroad. >> first, you have to, you know, become somebody abroad, and then you come home and people here say, oh, you're somebody, so you work. >> she has already won five

international prizes and has three new roles lined up. right now, she is preparing for the european film awards gala. but even if she does not win the award, she still has enough reasons to celebrate. >> two of the films in the running for the european film prize are german productions that look at the country's debate about immigration and islam's role in society. that debate was fueled by a book by a former member of the german central bank. in a, he argues that islamic immigrants are placing a financial and cultural strain on the country. the but has become a bestseller, and the immigration debate continues to rage, meaning both films are likely to attract a broad audience. >> honor killings are the focus of the migrant family drama. whereas, the other movie takes

the comedy track, tracing two lads trying to get rich quick running a disco in hamburg. the two movies look at my experiences in germany from completely different angles. >> this one portrays a young woman forced into marriage in turkey. she escapes her husband's violent and returns to her family in berlin with her son. ♪ >> [speaking foreign language] >> but her family will not hear of it. the film paints a bleak picture of a conservative muslim family whose life is dictated by religion. and his actress place at the sister. >> i have seen the film with turkish friends, and some of them said that is just not true. it is not what turkish families are like. it is portrayed in a brutal

fashion, and now the germans will think we're all like that. but i think the germans have seen this bill and have understood some of it, and they realize not every family is like this. >> integration or segregation, fears of parallel societies, the opportunities muslim migrants have, these are subjects that have been keenly debated as a result of the propositions by the former central banker. in his controversial book, germany does away with itself and claims many muslims living here are not capable of hitting into german society. but these two movies had already turned the spotlight on these burning issues earlier and with considerable international success. >> the subject definitely keeps popping up again in a new guise. it is very provocative. i think the role of muslim men and women in contemporary german society will keep us busy for quite some time yet.

>> it is certainly on the top of film makers agendas. in his film, he shows the world the also portrayed in earlier works. greeks, turks, live in hamburg, multi-cultural melting pot. ♪ [speaking foreign language] >> these young guys come from a range of nationalities and are trying to find the love of their lives, and plenty of cash. the comedy shows their life together as a success story and with plenty of humor, too. both films are candidates for prizes in this year's european film academy awards. but while soul kitchen showed migrants very much at home here, the other movie shows a family that separates itself off. the movies reflect dual strands

in the natio currently under way throughout germany. >> and that has been our "in depth" at this hour. thank you for watching. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ ♪

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>> hinojosa: drug-related killings continue at an alarming rate throughout mexico, and the violence is now spilling across the border into the united states. mexico bureau chief for the dallas morning news alfredo corchado. i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. alfredo corchado, you are the mexico bureau chief for the dallas morning news. as such, you spend a lot of your time covering drug dealers, the traficantes, the narcos, the kidnappings.

this was not the mexico that you would have been reporting on 20 years ago. it's a whole new mexico. >> well, i actually came to mexico, and my real passion back then was covering immigration, covering the us-mexico relations. and when i l i left mexico for washingt,t std , ina: theti an policy to mexico. whwakiinthder...

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' ' ' ' ' 'ou 'i beca a journist, i..one of the prom s that would never cover drug trafficking. ojosou kidding me? you told that to your parents? >> well, my rents haa small el paso, two, three blocks from the border. and at one point there was a

person who had offered my father money to store merchandise, you know, overnight. wa le, something like $3,000 a month, you know, which was incredible. when... we had just arrived in we didn't really know the dynamics. and when we finally found out that this guy was talking about drugs-- cocaine, marijuana-- he if the authorities find out," you know, "we won't take it out on'it on dahts." >> hinojosa: oh, my gosh. >> and so from that point on, when i told my dad, i said, "i want to become a journalist," he says, "just never cover drug and for the longest time, i did follow that advice, not just because of my father, but because i ret interested in the issue. but again, it's become the kind of issue that no one, i mean, no 'al or a cop or a worker in mexico,

you can't ignore the issue anymore, because it is threaten tnkve stilitof the country. >> hinojosa: well, in fact, as a journalist, journalists in mexico have been told by their editors, "we are notoi cover the drug trafficking story. we're not going to cover it." so what does that mean for you, alfredo? i..n, hloof friends, you know, some of whom are journalists. and it means, i guess a sense o. because oftentimes i will get calls from journalists who i do owel w iru, o ll say, "look, we can't print this, buhere's what's going on." and so there is a sense of, you know, you have to find a way to do it. >> hinojosa: but you're like the last bastion. >> right, the last bastion of peescilyorhe border, for the border region. there's so much censorship along the us-mexico border that... and it's not just a censorship because of the drug cartels, but

also because, obviously, the industry's going through some hard times, they're cutting back on bureaus, so there is a void ofnfmaon you know, oftentimes you go to a place likeiudad juarez, and people kind ofrata tth rcados, you know, and listen to people playing corridos, and maybe they'll get a little tip of what's going on in the neighborhood-- you know, who ll w lt ght and why. >> hinojosa: that's how... so wait a second. so you're telling me that right now there may occullings and people can't read about it in the newspaper, so they go to the market to maybe get a sense ofhathgoips ouwh the murder was about? >> what the gossip is, either from norteno groups or from the local merchant or someone else, you know? >> hinojosa: just so we are clear, norteno groups play music, a style called norteno, where it's basically a ballad, and they're telling stories. >> or narcocorrido, atom from the local... you know, local flavor, the local news. it's like the local choir, you

know? and yes, i mean, thaish's happening. there's so much control over news that... and some cartels are very sophisticated about that. i mean, they will buy you... you know, they will buy a spokesperson, they will hire a spokesperson, who will actually callewspapers every day. i mean, his or her job is to call the local editors, the local news directors, and say, "this story cannot run tomorrow." or "if it runs tomorrow it must be inside." >> hinojosa: okay, wait, wait, wait. so you're saying that you have... the cartel is at such a level of sophistication now that it's run essentially like a cooration, where they've got public spokespeople who used to be journalists who have now been bought off? >> absolutely. >> hinojos iea tt st sounds crazy. you've got... you've got journalists who are acting as spokespeople for cartels? >> oh, it's... you know, it's

the old saying, (speaking spanish), you take the money or you take the lead. and a lot of of people, i mean, don't ha tt choice. i mean, it's not a real easy choice, you know? >> hinojosa: and what other ways do you see kind ..i mean, again, because you're so deep inside this kind of reporting, and we don't really hear it so much on this side of the border, when we're talking about cartel you know, people have this image of kind of, you know, i guess the pablo escobar cartel, kind of ragtag, you know, making a lot of money, but not sophisticated. when you're talking about a drug cartel in mexico, what exactly are we talking about? you know, can you comparit to a corporation? >> you can compare it to a corporation, because they think very... you know, you have the peop who are in charge of pushing drugs across the us, you have people who are in charge of killing, (speaking spanish), you know, the killers. and then you have the public relations side-- you know, the people who will... information

is very, very critical. and so you need someone who's going to make sure that the message gets out, and that the right message gets out. >> hinojosa: what could possibly be the right message for a cartel on a given day? >> the right message is, "we are the most violent cartel, and we are the bosses, and we control the city, we control the mayor, and our rules are the rules," you know? >> hinojosa: so they'll actually put some of their spokespeople to say, "make it clear that we control the mayor"? >> or not necessarily control the mayor, but for example, you know, there's a story tomorrow that... "we want a story about how there's so much military abuse, and it has to be on the front page." because they're savvy enough to know that in washington people look at that very closely, you know, military abuse. and i'm not saying that all these cases are false. i mean, there are some legitimate complaints. >> hinojosa: right, but are you saying that there are editors who will then say, "okay, we're

going to put this on the front page"? >> oftentimes they have no choice. >> hinojosa: they have no choice? >> they have no choice. >> hinojosa: if they don't put this story on the front page? >> there are ramifications. they may kidnap you, they may kidnap your daughter, they may bomb your building, they may kill your reporter, they may kill your editor. >> hinojosa: how can you possibly have a functioning commmunity of journalists in that kind of a situation? >> i mean, it's very difficult. it is very... i mean, that's why today i think mexico is the most dangerous place in the americas to do journalism. especially along the us-mexico border. >> hinojosa: that's where you are, alfredo. >> right. >> hinojosa: that's what you do. so... >> and that's why i left for a year. >> hinojosa: and that's why you left and came to boston for a year. how much do you worry about... i mean, you know, as journalists, we're kind of, like... we're doing our job, we're doing our thing. it's not like you're always looking over your shoulder. but are you looking over your shoulder? >> well, not here. not in cambridge. but it is something that i worry

about a lot, and i don't think there's a day that goes by nowadays that i don't think about that, and about how much deeper do i want to get, you know, back look-- in the end, being six feet underground, it's not going to help anyone. so you have to find a way to do the story and be able to live another day to tell the next story. >> hinojosa: so how do you do it? i mean, again, when i'm thinking, like, "okay, i'm a journalist, i've done investigative work, i do it all the time." i wouldn't know where to begin in terms of doing an investigative piece on narcotraffics, or the cartels. i mean, who do you call? how do you do that kind of reporting? >> a lot of sourcing. i mean, it's a lot of sourcing. >> hinojosa: but a lot of sourcing means you spend a lot of time developing relationships. >> developing relationships with the right people. and that's really the key, is who's the right people?

>> hinojosa: who can you trust? >> how many people, you know, will be happy to take you and have you killed, or have you disappear? but, you know, i want to stress that what we go through as foreign correspondents, american foreign correspondents, is nothing compared to what our mexican colleagues go through. i mean, they're stuck there. they have to live that, you know, day by day. we have the luxury of coming in, parachuting in, and leaving. i'm not saying it's not difficult, but, i mean, it is, i think, a big, big difference in terms of security, personal security. >> hinojosa: so why do you keep doing it, alfredo? i mean, you're at the level in your career where you could say to your editors, "you know what? base me in who knows where, but not mexico city." >> i've asked that question myself, you know, i think for the past 300-something, 60 days. i don't really have a clear

answer. i mean, i do have... feel a huge responsibility. and i think as a foreign correspondent there's no way that you can overlook this story. can you do things differently? i mean, because, i mean, i go back a lot now, and i think, "okay, did i really have to go that extra mile for that story? will i do it again?" and i don't think i will. and i also think that it's time for us as journalists to also look at the us side-- you know, what's happening here. and that's... i think that's really the most overlooked story, the story that we haven't really covered. >> hinojosa: which is american drug consumption, the american gun business, essentially. what other part of the story? >> corruption on the us side. >> hinojosa: because it's very easy to look at corruption in mexico, but it's hard to actually see corruption happening here. >> it's very easy to blame, and not really look at yourself. and again, you know, that, i think, is the good part of the

story, is that finally both societies are looking deeply, you know, into themselves. i mean, mexicans can't point the finger anymore at the united states and say, "the consumption is in the us." i mean, it's now in monterey, it's in mexico city, it's in ciudad juarez, you know? guadalajara, and on and on and on. it's... the fight in mexico today is no longer just about controlling distribution routes to the us, but also about controlling communities. you know, who sells who to your local community. >> hinojosa: all right, so given all of this, and given the fact that there's a relationship between these two counties that is now acknowledged, there has been a bit of an opening on a topic that was... is hugely controversial, which is the legalization of drugs. and in mexico, there has been increasing dialogue about this. what do you think about that, when you hear that? do you think if we legalized it the cartels would just disappear, or if we legalize it

that's just going to empower them even more? i mean, they'll have money, they'll be something legal. >> i mean, i think it'll help, but i don't think legalization in the end is really the answer. i mean, it'll help both sides. i think the root cause, especially for mexico, is lack of institutions. i mean, lack of rule of law, impunity, a very weak judicial system. and until mexico addresses that... and that may take years. i mean, we're not talking about, you know, calderon's last three years, president calderon of mexico. we're talking about decades. it's going to take a long time, because if it's not drugs today, it might be something else tomorrow. >> hinojosa: do you feel like in mexico there is a will for that? i mean, certainly among the population there's a will to want to resolve this. but is there a will to say, "this really means we've got to change our institutions, our

judicial system, we've got to work on this"? is there that kind of a will? >> i've been, you know, looking very closely at calderon's approval ratings. and they still hover in the 65-60%, which tells me maybe that people do want him to do what he's doing. but that's, i think, the real key question, is how long will this will last? that, i think, will really tell us a lot about mexican will-- how much can they tolerate? you know, three years into calderon's term, more than 11,000 people have been killed. and it's not just narcotrafficking. i mean, there's a lot of innocent civilians who are being... >> hinojosa: which is actually the question i was going to ask you. i mean, there were some journalists who i spoke to who said, "you know, there is a lot of violence, but when you're talking about drug violence, it's very specific. it's not just random people getting caught in the crossfire, it's very specific violence that

is directed by the cartels-- 'you kill my enemy, my enemy, you know, then comes back.'" is it like that, or is it that anyone, essentially, can... >> i think for the most part it is like that. but inevitably you're going to have innocent people caught in the crossfire. and not just mexicans-- i mean, americans too, especially along the us-mexico border. you've had people from el paso, young... you know, young kids recently, who were killed. i mean, and the other thing that's also worrisome is that i think it's misleading to call this a drug war, because we haven't really seen drug cartels targeting specifically the military. there have been some instances, but it's not really an all-out assault between, you know, the government troops and cartels, which might suggest that the cartels still want to have a pact with the government. you know, they don't really want to go all out. i think when it comes... you

know, when it goes all out, it's going to get a lot bloodier. >> hinojosa: but we're talking about how many federal troops now have been mobilized with calderon? >> in ciudad juarez alone, about 10,000 troops there. nationwide, more... i mean, i've heard more than 40,000, more than 60,000 troops. >> hinojosa: okay, and when you look at these troops, alfredo, do you say, "they're going to do the right thing," or do you look at them and say, "how many of them are going to get bought off?" >> and how long before they get bought off? i mean, if you have... whenever you have the mexican military take over towns, there's always the initial reaction, which is like a parade, you know? the troops are going into the city, and people are waving, people feel safe for a few days. and then either it's the cartels' guerilla war tactics, or the cooption, the corruption that takes place, but sooner or later, i mean, a lot of people... i mean, business goes back to usual. ciudad juarez, for example. troops come in in march, the murder rate goes down

dramatically from ten to one. here we are, it's back to eight or nine, you know? and this is what, three months? calderon cannot sustain a policy based just on, you know, sending the military. again, he has to go... i mean, it's really going to take the institutions to take root before... i think before you start seeing real dramatic change in mexico. and that's going to take a long time. >> hinojosa: what has to happen on this side of the border? what is the dialogue, the conversation, that this country needs to have nationally about this issue that you don't think is happening? >> well, i mean, obviously the weapons. the weapon is a big, big deal. you know, more than 90% of the weapons confiscated in mexico come from the us. there are hundreds if not more than 1,000 gun shops just along the us-mexico border-- texas, arizona. >> hinojosa: so you can basically cross the border from mexico, let's say legally, and you can go and buy a gun in one of these gun shops without a

problem? >> virtually no problem, yeah. and, i mean, that's a huge problem. i think the other debate that americans have to ask themselves is, you know, currently, overwhelmingly, most of the us money goes into attacking this problem as a police problem, as a criminal problem, enforcement problem. you have to really, i think, go back to... or think about the treatment aspect. it's a health issue. and i think those are two critical questions that have to be asked before you start seeing some significant change on this side. >> hinojosa: okay, finally, alfredo, your message to young journalists, okay? they're looking at you and they're saying, "he's got a great job, stable, but, my gosh, i don't ever want to do this." your message to young latino journalists is what? >> i'll say something that i've told other people, is that... personal experience. when i first received my

threats, you know, death threats from the cartels, my sense was, "it can't be. i'm an american journalist," you know? "they're not going to touch me, because that just brings too much attention." and a us source confirmed that, and said, "look, i have good news and bad news. the bad news is that you just don't look american, so be careful." >> hinojosa: thank you, alfredo. thank you for all of your work, and for sticking to it. we really appreciate it. and thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. continue the conversation at wgbh.org/oneonone. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org b4z