Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s military offensive against ruthless drug cartels has calmed a surge in violence and won him support from many who until now saw him as a bookish, even nerdy technocrat. In the two months since he took office, Calderon has sent thousands of troops into trafficking strongholds where police had feared to go in order to bring down escalating drug violence. He struck a major blow on Jan 19 by extraditing four major traffickers to face trial in U.S. courts. Full Story