SAN DIEGO -- It took some time, but the border drug wars are finally on the nation's radar.

Congressional hearings are taking place about the subject, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Mexico next week.

A Mexican reporter close to the issue for decades told 10News that winning the drug war is not that simple.

Clinton's trip to Mexico is a nice show of support and the first by a top Obama policy maker to the country.

Mexican journalist Sergio Sarmiento said he doubts anything of real value will result.

"I've never actually believed that you can stop a problem as serious as this by just having congressional hearings and having politicians getting together. I don't think it works that way," said Sarmiento.

A reporter since 1971, Sarmiento was considered an expert when it comes to the drug war in Mexico.

During a seminar at the University of California, San Diego, he told 10News the battle with the cartels and the violence will never end with politicians shaking hands.

"Government officials say that I am a defeatist because I say those things. And I've always said, 'Well if there is more drug consumption then we are clearly losing the drug wars,'" said Sarmiento.

Sarmiento said the media in Mexico has gotten better. It has been tougher over the past two decades, and more willing to take on corrupt politicians.

When it comes to the cartels, Sarmiento said it's a different story.

"You might have the courage to stand up to a corrupt politician. But standing up to a drug lord is suicidal," said Sarmiento.

Sarmiento's own TV station fell victim to the cartel violence. Two of his co-workers, Gamaliel Lopez and Gerardo Paredes, were kidnapped two years ago and have never been found.

According to a freedom of the press Web site called Reporters Without Borders, Mexico is second only to Afghanistan in the number of journalists kidnapped last year.

The same Web site said four Mexican reporters were murdered in gang-style killings in 2008. All four of the journalists were advocates of anti-violence and all four cases remain unsolved.

The number of reporter deaths in Mexico is actually down, and Sarmiento said there is a reason for that.

"Many independent media, especially small newspapers that were independent and very brave in the past, have decided not to cover the drug issue anymore," said Sarmiento.

Last month, two more Mexican crime reporters were shot by gunmen as they arrived to cover a story. The photographer, John Paul Ramirez, was killed.

More than 25 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, and seven more have simply disappeared in the last four years.