said recently that the United States must share responsibility because the demand for drugs and most of the weapons used by drug cartels comes from north of the border . The drug war and security will be a major topic when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday . Andrew Selee , director of the Woodrow Wilson Center 's Mexico Institute , called Obama 's pledge on Tuesday to give $ 700 million in aid to Mexico and assign an additional 360 staff along the border a `` substantive commitment '' that shows the United States is serious about attacking the problem . `` It 's an attempt to really put some substance behind the idea of shared responsibility , '' Selee said . `` They finally committed some of the resources they said they would to this . '' Success will depend on the follow-through , he said . `` Now is the hard part , '' he said . `` It 's not easy to follow the money trail or stop the weapons or the criminal networks . '' Others say the Obama plan falls short . Larry Birns , director of the
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The power of the Mexican military was on full display Tuesday in Ciudad Juarez , where police reported the third consecutive day without a drug slaying . A federal police officer guards a checkpoint earlier this month in Ciudad Juarez , Mexico Ten drug-related killings in a single day were common before 9,500 army troops poured into the blood-soaked border town in the past few weeks , said Mauricio Mauricio , a spokesman for the Juarez municipal police . `` It 's a much more secure city at this moment , '' he said . `` We have n't had murders with the same regularity and frequency as before . '' But as President Obama 's administration announced plans Tuesday to beef up U.S. security along its border with Mexico , there are questions about whether increased military and police efforts in both nations can yield long-term results . Mexico has been spiraling into a deepening pit of violence , with 6,500 people killed in 2008 and the body count continuing apace this year . Most of that violence is occurring along the border , which worries Washington . Mexican President Felipe Calderon and others have