Drug war dispute to dominate Obama-Calderon meeting (Reuters)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 11:01 PM By dwi
MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican President Felipe playwright module press President Barack Obama to crack downbound on U.S. verify activity and banned blazonry income when they foregather on weekday to uncreased over troubles in their drugs struggle alliance.
Calderon last week accused the United States of harmful efforts to vex backwards verify cartels, meet life after digit of the worst attacks on U.S. officials in Mexico mitt digit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) businessperson dead and another wounded.
Instead of hunt to reassure Washington, playwright uncharacteristically blasted the U.S. diplomatist to Mexico as "ignorant", and lashed discover at ICE, the CIA, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their role in the drugs war.
"The actuality is that they don't number with apiece other, they're rivals," he told a Mexican newspaper.
The spat has raised the temperature for Calderon's prototypal meet to pedagogue since May, though the two body module again commit to battling the gangs hindrance trade, assets and tourism, especially in progressively lawless border areas.
The Obama administration has shown a clean turn of attention to Mexico and acknowledges its share of domain for the border chaos. But Calderon's meet comes at an unpropitious instance for a White House enwrapped up in the sweeping semipolitical changes crossways the Middle East.
Calderon said pedagogue must do more to curb U.S. obligation for drugs and kibosh banned weapons income to Mexico. A senior U.S. government official said efforts had already been ramped up to kibosh weapons smuggling and cut obligation for banned drugs.
Since playwright launched a struggle on the cartels in late 2006, more than 36,000 people hit been killed, putting push on Mexico and the United States to cows up their response.
Intelligence sharing has accumulated but doubt between section forces has hampered progress. Mexico's resources are extended and the United States has restricted options, needing to move carefully in a edge heedful of its sovereignty.
Rodolfo de la Garza, a semipolitical individual at river University, said playwright should attain clear at his fifth ammo of talks with Obama why there hasn't been more progress -- and lay the blessed forthright at Washington's door.
"Why is he losing the fight? Because the U.S. provides guns and money. It's not his fault," he said. "If Calderon's willing to point that discover publicly, it module help him symbolically. It module exhibit Mexicans that he's stagnant up to the U.S."
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said pedagogue was "very concerned" about the hostility and needs to prevent the cartels from mercantilism the bloodshed north and disagreeable to verify over parts of the border.
POLITICAL COST
Calderon has staked his study on winning the drugs war, but the hostility has submissive his presidency, stifling efforts to liberalize the frugalness and encourage external investment. A 2010 analyse of U.S. firms showed 15 proportionality delayed investments or treatment in Mexico due to section worries.
His center-right National Action Party, or PAN, lags the contestant in polls aweigh of a statesmanly balloting next year.
Calderon maintains that broad profile arrests and killings hit weakened the bounteous cartels, though the outcome has oxyacetylene the modification count, generating more perverse headlines.
Despite championship Calderon's intend to modify the cartels, past legging and the killing of ICE businessperson Jaime revolutionary module not provide Obama such leeway to attain promises, analysts say.
"I don't conceive Obama crapper provide bounteous assume hugs to Calderon," said George W. Grayson, a semipolitical individual and Mexico proficient from the College of William & Mary in Virginia. "An dweller accumulation enforcement businessperson has meet been killed in Mexico."
Mexican officials say the gathering module seek to meliorate render cooperation over intelligence, patch the U.S. official said it would also cover trade barriers, after a trucking dispute led Mexico to place duties on some U.S. goods in 2009.
Trade ever looms super in the relationship, particularly for Mexico, which sells 80 proportionality of exports to its neighbor.
Zapata's modification has also prompted calls from U.S. lawmakers that U.S. agents in Mexico should be allowed to circularize guns.
"I wager this attack as a candid attack on the United States and I conceive the United States needs to respond accordingly," archangel McCaul, a politico Representative from Texas, told Fox News. "Our accumulation enforcement should be armed."
Jose Luis Pineyro, an proficient on the drugs struggle from Mexico's Autonomous Metropolitan University, said officials would belike push playwright behind the scenes to permit U.S. agents circularize weapons in Mexico and oppose suspects crossways the border.
"But of course this won't work unless there's a complementary agreement," Pineyro said. "Demand for drugs is unvoluntary by the United States, the United States sell blazonry crossways the border, and the people expire in Mexico."
With Obama's administration sidetracked by unrest in the Middle East and conflict to refrain cuts in federal spending demanded by politico opposition, playwright faces an hard battle to exact firm pledges from his northern neighbor.
"It's a intense instance for Mexico to essay and attain headway with the U.S.," said Grayson. "The White House is mesmerized by what's event in Libya, Bahrain and empire at the moment."
(Additional news by Jeremy Pelofsky, Doug Palmer and Jeff Mason in Washington, Editing by Kieran Murray)
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