Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Friday his government "does not and will never negotiate" with drug traffickers, and vowed to press on with a military clampdown which so far has failed to stop spiralling drug violence.

Drug-related deaths have doubled this year, to more than 5,300 according to Mexico's top prosecutor, despite the deployment of 36,000 troops across the country.

"My government does not and will never negotiate with criminal organizations," Calderon said at a ceremony with the country's Marines. "We're determined to not only confront, but to defeat enemies of Mexico with all the force of the state."

The Mexican leader, who launched the military crackdown when he took power two years ago, blamed his predecessors for the country's current woes.

"The fact of ignoring or pretending to manage crime, instead of confronting it with determination in the past, has brought about fatal consequences," Calderon said.

Drug cartels, including the powerful Juarez and Sinaloa gangs, are fighting for control of key trafficking routes into the United States across Mexico, particularly in border areas.