Officially, between 2008 and 2010 in Tijuana, some 2,327 people were killed, 390 people disappeared and more than 100 were kidnapped.

By comparison, from Jan.1 to April 8 of this year, the state Attorney General's Office has logged 145 murders in Tijuana, 107 less than in the same period as last year.

The rhetoric from politicians and business leaders demanding an end to the violence has quieted and the fear that gripped the city has ebbed in many parts. In the heavily populated and generally poorer east side, however, residents still face crime daily.

Last Thursday, at the children's Museo Trompo, some 6,500 mothers of poor communities, who had been invited there, said the main problems they faced were a lack of jobs and lack of safety.

About the latter, Carmen González, 44, one of the mothers, said the east side neighborhood where she lives, Terrazas del Valle, was the scene of homicides, robberies and rapes, as well as drug dealing, particularly by teens and young adults.

The troops at Duarte's command continue patrolling the streets, carrying out operations, and setting up checkpoints in the tourist corridor and federal highways. It's been a while when they stopped being a menacing presence or even an unusual one.

"Society is not in danger because of some possible armed confrontation between the army and criminals," Duarte said. "We're taking into consideration the fundamental risks of each operation, sometimes carrying them out at night to lessen these risks."

Despite these efforts, drug trafficking will not be eliminated solely by the military nor the nation's police agencies, said José María Ramos, the director of the department of Public Administration Studies in the think tank Colegio de la Frontera Norte.

Echoing the view of many experts north of the border, he said that as long as U.S. authorities do not reduce the demand for drugs, the fundamental problem will continue.

Omar.millan@sandiegored.com