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 Editorials | Issues | August 2007 
Calderon Asks Bush to Fight Drugs in U.S., Not Mexico
 Patrick Harrington - Bloomberg
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 |  | I told President Bush we did not want to have U.S. soldiers working in our country, as has happened in other countries.
- President Felipe Calderon |  | |
Mexican President Felipe Calderon called on U.S. President George W. Bush to do more to fight drug and arms traffickers in the U.S.
Drug-trafficking gangs are operating on both sides of the border, Calderon told reporters in Montebello, Quebec. In order to fight drugs, the countries need a strategy that doesn't just focus on Mexico, Calderon said, according to a transcript of the news conference.
Calderon is trying to pressure U.S. officials to match his drug-fighting efforts in Mexico. A week after taking office in December, Calderon dispatched thousands of army and navy troops to battle drug traffickers, sparking violent confrontations.
"They coordinate on both sides of the border," Calderon said of the gangs. "We are not."
Calderon criticized the U.S. for allowing weapons shipments into Mexico with little scrutiny and asked Bush to step up surveillance on the border. Calderon told reporters that he had discussed a joint plan to fight traffickers with Bush that does not allow U.S. troops in Mexico.
"I told President Bush, though, we did not want to have U.S. soldiers working in our country, as has happened in other countries," Calderon said.
Bush, speaking after Calderon during the conference, said the neighbors were working on a drug plan and promised it would not involve U.S. troops in Mexico. The plan, in contrast to the so-called Plan Colombia, would focus on the border region, Bush said.
"All I can tell you is the package, when it's developed, will be robust enough to achieve a common objective, which is less violence on both sides of the border," Bush said.
Contact Patrick Harrington at pharrington8@bloomberg.net |
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