Calderon Launches the War on Drug Cartels
Tens of thousands of federal troops deploy against organized crime, and homicides climb into the hundreds of thousands
Quick facts
- Calderon's term
- 1 December 2006 - 30 November 2012
- Homicides under Calderon
- Over 120,000
- Total homicides since 2006
- Over 463,000
- Major cartel named
- Sinaloa Cartel (Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman)
What happened
President Felipe Calderon, who took office on 1 December 2006 after a closely contested election, declared war on Mexico's drug cartels within weeks of his inauguration, launching Operation Michoacan, an initial deployment of federal troops and police against organized crime in his home state before expanding the campaign nationally. Over his 2006-2012 term, Calderon deployed tens of thousands of military personnel, frequently replacing local police forces he considered corrupt, targeting cartels including the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. The government registered more than 120,000 homicides during Calderon's six years in office, roughly double the toll under his predecessor, and Mexico has recorded more than 463,000 homicides in total since the war began in 2006, with violence continuing to climb under subsequent administrations.
Why it matters
Calderon's militarized strategy did capture or kill numerous cartel leaders, but the resulting power vacuums repeatedly splintered organizations into smaller, more violent groups rather than reducing violence, a pattern that continued for years after his term ended and that reshaped how both the Mexican and U.S. governments approach organized crime along the border.
How we know
Homicide totals for Calderon's term and the cumulative post-2006 toll are documented by the Mexican government's own crime statistics, as reported and analyzed by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sources
- Council on Foreign Relations. Mexico's Long War: Drugs, Crime, and the Cartels · Unclassified sourcecfr.org · Cited as a "website" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Council on Foreign Relations, Global Conflict Tracker. Criminal Violence in Mexico · Unclassified sourcecfr.org · Cited as a "website" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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