President Enrique Pena Nieto says the army and navy will continue to fight drug cartels in Mexico while a new security strategy is determined and the troops can return to their bases.

Pena Nieto, who took office three day ago, has said he will change former President Felipe Calderon's security strategy of confronting drug gangs and focus on reducing violence. But he has not given the specifics about how he plans to achieve this.

The new president lauded the work of the armed forces in a meeting with military leaders on Tuesday.

Calderon deployed more than 45,000 troops shortly after taking office in 2006.

Some 60,000 people have been killed by drug violence since then, according to some estimates.