Saturday, January 29, 2005
Mexi- Angered by U.S. Criticism of Drug War
Interior Minister Santiago Creel rejected charges by the U.S. ambassador in Mexico that Mexican police were losing the battle against crime in the area, and Foreign Minister Ernesto Derbez discussed the matter with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone, government sources said.
Creel said the fight against organized crime on Mexican soil was a matter only for President Vicente Fox's government, which launched an assault last week against gangs taking orders from jailed drug lords.
"Here, Mexicans are in charge. We have friendly and neighborly relations and we are partners in a free trade agreement but that's it," Creel told the Televisa television network.
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in his letter to Mexican government leaders that Mexican security forces were failing to control crime in the violent border area. "I worry that the inability of local law enforcement to come to grips with rising drug warfare, kidnappings and random street violence will have a chilling effect on the cross-border exchange, tourism and commerce so vital to the region's prosperity,"
At the end of the day, "Mexico can't afford to have an incident perpetrated in the United States by someone who entered through Mexico," said Armand B. Peschard-Sverdrup of the CSIS think tank in Washington.
Creel said the fight against organized crime on Mexican soil was a matter only for President Vicente Fox's government, which launched an assault last week against gangs taking orders from jailed drug lords.
"Here, Mexicans are in charge. We have friendly and neighborly relations and we are partners in a free trade agreement but that's it," Creel told the Televisa television network.
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in his letter to Mexican government leaders that Mexican security forces were failing to control crime in the violent border area. "I worry that the inability of local law enforcement to come to grips with rising drug warfare, kidnappings and random street violence will have a chilling effect on the cross-border exchange, tourism and commerce so vital to the region's prosperity,"
At the end of the day, "Mexico can't afford to have an incident perpetrated in the United States by someone who entered through Mexico," said Armand B. Peschard-Sverdrup of the CSIS think tank in Washington.
