Jorge Castaneda, the former foreign minister of Mexico, was interviewed by Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman as part of the special series Drugs Central.

In the face of escalating drug-related violence and a rising death toll, Mexico's presidential contenders are under pressure to come up with something different from the current policy ahead of the 2012 election.

Almost five years after President Felipe Calderon sent tens of thousands of troops and police against the powerful drug cartels, the flow of illegal drugs to the United States has not been reduced.

Newman asked Castaneda what the next president should do to deal with the country's violent crime lords.