Jorge Castaneda, the former Foreign Minister of Mexico, was interviewed by Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman as part of the special coverage: Drugs Central.
In the face of escalating drug-related violence and a rising death toll, Mexico's presidential contenders are under pressure to come up with something different from the current policy ahead of the 2012 election.
Almost five years after president Calderon gave the order, tens of thousands of troops and police are still on the streets and the flow of drugs north to the United States has not been reduced.
Newman asked Castaneda, what the next president should do to deal with the country's powerful drug cartels?"
