Politics & Government
A two-star Mexican army general steps out of a helicopter into a field of marijuana in the western Sierra Madre Mountains, August 25, 2010. A military eradication unit would later chop down the plants. The general's name is being withheld at his request. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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Soldiers in Mexico deploy in an area of the western Sierra Madres in Chihuahua state where marijuana plantations are numerous. August 25, 2010. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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A Mexican army sentry stands guard in a marijuana field as an eradication unit across a stream pulls up illicit crops and burns them, August 25, 2010. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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Uprooting marijuana plants while in full military gear, especially in Mexico's heat, is not easy work, August 25, 2010. But Mexican leaders far prefer this kind of manual eradication over aerial spraying of herbicide. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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Mexican marijuana production has climbed for a decade, but drug experts say that last year the United States overtook it in total production. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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A soldier carries a bundle of marijuana to a bonfire, where troops not only burn the weed but also burn plastic tubing that growers use for a primitive irrigation system, August 25, 2010 in Chihuahua, Mexico. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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Freshly chopped green marijuana does not burn well so Mexican troops douse it with gasoline to get a bonfire going, August 25, 2010. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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After several hours of hard work, the soldiers barely tear up two acres of pot August 25, 2010 in Chihuahua, Mexico. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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A Mexican army helicopter prepares to take off in search of other illicit marijuana plantations in the southern highlands of Chihuahua, August 25, 2010. (Heriberto Rodriguez/MCT)
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