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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2005 
US Attorney General Meets With Fox
 El Universal
| | US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales |
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Vicente Fox discussed safety and commerce on the U.S.-Mexican border, drug interdiction, and anti-terrorism efforts during a meeting in Mexico City on Wednesday, authorities said.
Fox expressed satisfaction with the countries' recent cooperation in the fight against organized crime and in other law enforcement areas, according to a written statement from the president's office. Gonzales did not speak to the news media during his visit.
"Border issues were discussed, as were topics like terrorism, drugtrafficking, money laundering, migrant trafficking and everything related to respect for the human rights of migrants," Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha told reporters after meeting with Gonzales.
In a press statement, Gonzales said "our meeting today was a productive one, and I look forward to continuing a beneficial and meaningful working relationship with Attorney General Macedo de la Concha, based on mutual respect and admiration."
Mexico has been pressing the United States not to allow abuses of Mexican migrants by civilian volunteers expected to start patrolling Arizona borders later this week.
The United States, meanwhile, has been pressing Mexico to crack down on violence along the border.
But neither side pressured the other, Macedo de la Concha said.
"There was an exchange of points of view, and mainly there was an expression of willingness to continue joint efforts on all the problems that we face," he said.
The two also discussed extraditions, intellectual property crimes and diversion of chemicals to narcotics laboratories, according to a U.S. embassy statement. They discussed strengthening the exchange of information and providing more technical assistance and training.
In January, the U.S. State Department angered Mexican officials by issuing a travel advisory urging Americans to "be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation" along Mexico's northern border.
Mexican officials say that much of the drug violence is caused by internal disputes within criminal organizations that break out following their leaders' arrests.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza later issued a statement acknowledging that much of the violence was indeed a backlash to the Fox administration's effective antidrug trafficking efforts.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Gonzales was Texas secretary of state from 1997 to 1999, serving as the state's lead liaison on Mexico and border issues. He was sworn into his new post on Feb. 3.
Gonzales also met Wednesday with Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez. |
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