by Pedro Saldana Maurice

    MEXICO CITY, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government has weakened the structures of drug trafficking groups by giving more than 47,000 prison sentences and seizing a large amount of drugs, weapons, vehicles and money, judicial authorities said Thursday.

    The large number of jail sentences showed the Mexican government's efforts in combating drug trafficking, Ricardo Najera, spokesman of the General Prosecutor's Office from the Republic (PGR), told Xinhua in an interview.

    Thousands of soldiers from the army and navy, as well as federal and PGR police officers, joined the fight, which has lasted more than 30 months since Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006.

    Since then, authorities had seized more than 55,000 weapons, 19,000 vehicles, 391 planes and 5.2 million munitions from drug trafficking groups, Najera said.

    Some 11,000 people had been killed in less than three years, he said, adding that 90 percent of the deaths were related to clashes between rival drug rings, but other victims were soldiers, policemen and civilians.

    The government's coordinated efforts, coupled with support from the governments of the United States, Colombia and other Central American countries, have yielded satisfactory results.

    Since December 2006, 50,756 people have been charged with drug trafficking, with over 47,000 of them convicted.

    "We have processed all the criminal groups, but it is a difficult battle, because when you catch one, it comes another one or two to replace that person," he said.

    Najera said the PGR had worked with the U.S. government to stop the flow of weapons across the border. The cooperation had been strengthened since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, he said.

    In total, the Mexican government has seized 4.6 million kg of marihuana and 43.6 tons of methamphetamine.

    Najera attributed the achievements to efforts by the military and police, as well as cooperation of the local and foreign governments.

    He said that during the war on drug trafficking, 244 people have been extradited, mostly to the United States. "With organized, planned, shared intelligence work with the foreign governments, it is possible to fight the drug trafficking," Najera said.

    "It is a long and complicated battle, as President Calderon said from the beginning, but it continues and will continue till the restoration of the society's trust level," he added.