The Obama administration plans to send more agents and equipment to the southwestern border to fight Mexican drug cartels and keep violence from spilling over into the United States.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Deputy Attorney General David Ogden announced the plans Tuesday during a briefing at the White House.

Many of the moves being announced are a continuation or expansion of programs that already existed under the Bush administration.

Violent turf battles among the cartels have wracked Mexico in recent years and led to a spate of kidnappings and home invasions in some U.S. cities.

More than 9,000 people have been killed in Mexican drug violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. Gangs are battling each other for territory and to fight off a government crackdown.

Among the moves the government is making:

• Doubling the border enforcement security teams that combine local, state, and federal officers.
• Adding 16 new Drug Enforcement Administration positions in the southwest region. DEA currently has more than 1,000 agents working in the southwest border region.
• Sending 100 more people form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the border in the next 45 days. A recent bill passed by Congress already provided money for the ATF to hire 37 new agents and support staff in the region to fight gun trafficking.
• Boosting the FBI's intelligence and analysis work on Mexican drug cartel crime.

DHS said it is still considering the use of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, along with several other initiatives.

"This issue requires immediate action," Napolitano said. "We are guided by two very clear objectives. First, we are going to do everything we can to prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling over across the border. And second, we will do all in our power to help President Felipe Calderón crack down on these drug cartels in Mexico."

Upping the ante against the cartels, Mexico's government said on Monday it was offering rewards of up to $2 million each for information leading to the arrest of 24 top drug lords. Smaller $1 million rewards are being offered for information about 13 of their lieutenants.

The rewards are said to be the largest Mexico has ever offered for top drug kingpins. Some of the men, such as suspected Pacific cartel leaders Joaquin Guzman and Ismael Zambada, are targeted by separate $5 million reward offers from the U.S. government.