Some of the more enthusiastic immigration hawks take pleasure in Mexico’s third-world fecklessness, which is both in bad taste as well as contrary to our interests. But this, from a story on Mexican soldiers deserting and joining the drug gangs, is ominous:

Of the 4,890 soldiers assigned to the federal police force to help combat traffickers during the 2000-06 administration of former President Vicente Fox, all but 10 deserted, said Gomez, citing Defense Secretariat figures.