Thread: Mexico pushes U.S. for drug-crime crackdown

Mexico pushes U.S. for drug-crime crackdown

Chris Hawley
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 28, 2007 12:00 AM

PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico - Saying he is doing his part by flooding border cities with combat troops, Mexico's president said Thursday it is now time for U.S. states to take radical action against drug crime by cracking down on drug users, money launderers and gun sales.

"We have no spared no expense or resource in the war against criminal organizations," President Felipe Calderón said at a meeting of border governors. "But this is a problem that goes far beyond our borders."

A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office this month said the quantity of drugs flowing into the United States has not dropped significantly since 2001 despite billions of dollars spent on fences, Border Patrol agents and high-tech sensors.

Since taking office in December, Calderón has dispatched thousands of troops to patrol the streets of Tijuana, Michoacán state, Nuevo Laredo and other drug hotspots. He has also asked the United States for a multibillion-dollar aid package to fight traffickers, a dramatic change for a country that is traditionally suspicious of U.S. intervention.

But Calderón warned that his effort could lose momentum if U.S. states do not get tougher on drug peddlers or change their gun laws.

"Just as the Mexican government . . . has redoubled and will redouble its efforts to regain peace in the streets and homes of Mexican border cities, the United States likewise needs to intensify actions to reduce the (drug) consumption and fight organized crime operating in and from U.S. territory."

Calderón was the keynote speaker as eight of the 10 U.S. and Mexican border governors began their annual meeting in Puerto Peñasco, the Gulf of California beach resort known to Americans as Rocky Point.

Gun shows and stores in the four border states are a major source of weapons used by Mexican gangs, but only California has restricted sales of assault-style weapons favored by the criminals.

Gov. Janet Napolitano said Arizona has targeted stolen vehicles, which are sometimes used to smuggle guns south, and has created Department of Public Safety squads to target urban gangs. But she said there were no laws in the works to limit gun sales or toughen punishments for drug users.

"I don't think there's a state in the country that has tougher drug laws than Arizona," Napolitano said.

Despite Calderón's tough words, the governors struck a friendly tone. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Border Governors Association vice president, reminisced about the movies he had filmed in Mexico, generating a titter of laughter when he mentioned Conan the Destroyer and other action films.

He also needled Calderón about the president's Dec. 1 inauguration, which Schwarzenegger attended. That ceremony in the Mexican capitol building was marked by fights between Calderón's allies and lawmakers who claimed he stole the election.

"I will never forget, of course, the action-packed day of your inauguration," Schwarzenegger said.

But despite the light tone, there were signs of frustration as lower-level state officials met Thursday behind closed doors. The annual meetings have been criticized for accomplishing little.

In one conference room, a California official griped that the state's ambitious effort to clean up the air - one of Schwarzenegger's favorite issues - was being hobbled by lawsuits from automakers.

In another room, Sergio Robles Garza, the civil-defense director of Coahuila state, complained the United States was giving Mexicans outdated equipment to fight hazardous-materials spills and that the donations came only in fits and spurts.

"I've been in emergency preparedness for 18 years, and for 18 years it's been the same," he said. "We can't go around inventing agreements to bring in junk equipment from the United States."

Conference organizers removed a Republic reporter from a meeting on border security, saying the group's proceedings were private.

Schwarzenegger and Napolitano were the only governors representing the U.S. side at the conference. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Texas Gov. Rick Perry did not attend, citing schedule conflicts.

Security was tight for the meeting, with police questioning travelers and taking down names at a temporary checkpoint 50 miles outside Puerto Peñasco, on the only paved road into town. A Mexican navy ship cruised offshore as Calderón gave his speech in a pavilion on the resort's Sandy Beach.

Sonoran officials hoped the publicity surrounding the conference would boost tourism in Puerto Peñasco, which is trying to compete with Cancún and Acapulco. But the town's remoteness created some logistical challenges. U.S. officials complained that their cell phones didn't work, and because of scant airline service, the Sonoran government chartered jets to bring participants from Phoenix and the Mexican city of Monterrey.

The meeting will end today with a joint statement outlining the governors' goals for the next year.

Reach the reporter at chris

.hawley@arizonarepublic.com

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... g0928.html

Calderon fails to acknowledge the fact that the drug traffickers and gun dealers are delivering these things to his own citizens who are in this country illegally. If he'd take back his own corrupt citizens, we wouldn't have such a problem.

Excuse me... but shouldn't it be MEXICO that should crack down on drugs and crime? The smuggling of drugs and illegal aliens who may be criminals are coming into the US from Mexico! I don't think that Mr. Calderon has a grip on reality!