Opinion: Nightmare in Mexico - CNN.com

Opinion: Nightmare in Mexico - CNN.com:

Visiting isn't difficult. For some Americans, it's leaving that's the problem.

For years, U.S. officials have urged their Mexican counterparts to get tough on drug traffickers. The Americans even provided $1.4 billion through the Merida Initiative to help our friends south of the border accomplish that goal.

Yet, the drama that unfolded in the state of Sonora for the last week can't be what U.S. officials had in mind.

The idea was to help Mexico's police and military pursue violent criminals -- the sort who terrorize people by scattering human heads like party favors on the dance floors of nightclubs -- not to prey on Americans held for ransom by crooked cops looking for their next payday.