<The DEA was working on La Familia's U.S. connections. On Oct. 21, 2009, U.S. law enforcement arrested 303 people in 19 U.S. states, all believed to be members of the organization. More than 3,000 agents took part in the raids, which also resulted in the seizure of vast amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, not to mention hundreds of weapons, vehicles, and two clandestine drug labs.

But La Familia wasn't finished - nowhere near. In 2010, there were 2029 homicides in Michoacan; in 2011, there were a quarter more. Homicide counts in many parts of Mexico -- Michoacan included -- are notoriously difficult to trust, given lack of solid investigations and a historical penchant for fudging data, but in 2012, more people died than they had two years before.

In spite of law enforcement efforts, La Familia is still thought to hold sway in Michoacan while violence and insecurity reign. Elements of the cartel are believed to have split and formed their own offshoot, the Knights Templar, which is now battling the remnants of La Familia.>

Frightening and disheartening. 

This whole situation seems rather hopeless. Is there ANY way out of this mess of Mexican drug cartels?

End the War on Drugs. 

http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/wilson-center-explores-unintended-consequences-of-war-on-drugs