MEXICO CITY, Oct. 15, 2011 (Reuters) — Mexican President Felipe Calderon said on Friday the eastern state of Veracruz, which has been convulsed by a wave of killings, had been "left in the hands" of the violent Zetas drug cartel.
"I think Veracruz was left in the hands of the Zetas. I don't know if was involuntary ... I'd like to think so," Calderon said at a meeting in Mexico City with campaigners trying to end drug-related violence that has racked the country.
The president did not elaborate on who was to blame for the situation in Veracruz, a state on the Gulf of Mexico ruled by the main opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Polls show the PRI is in pole position to oust Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) in presidential elections in July, and the government's war on drug cartels has been a major source of friction between the main parties.
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