Following years of grisly drug-related violence, Mexico's next president, Enrique Pena Nieto, is hinting that he will adopt a new anti-crime strategy when he takes office Dec. 1. Instead of using a military-style offensive to kill or capture the leaders of Mexico's drug cartels -- the approach of outgoing president Felipe Calderon -- Pena Nieto has suggested that he will focus on protecting civilians from crimes committed by cartel underlings and their allies in Mexico's security forces. The cartels pose strategic and political risks for both Mexico and the United States. Drug violence has raised tensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and complicated Mexico's trade relationships with the United States. At the same time, Mexico complains that the cartels are using guns smuggled from the United States and are supported by American appetites for illegal narcotics.

Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher contributing writer who previously reported on Haiti and Latin America for Time and Newsweek and covered the Southwest for newspapers in New Mexico. He has received several journalism awards, including the Bartolomé Mitre Award for drug coverage from the Inter-American Press Association and awards for investigative and interpretive reporting from the New Mexico Press Association. He holds an A.B. in university studies from the University of New Mexico.