US, Mexico Pledge Cooperation On Drugs
WASHINGTON (AP) – President George W. Bush on Tuesday pledged continued U.S. cooperation on narcotrafficking in Mexico, saying the United States has a responsibility to help prevent guns from moving south across the border.
Bush had his final Oval Office meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, a leader U.S. officials have praised for deploying troops to fight cartels and capturing top drug kingpins. Calderon won a multimillion-dollar, anti-drug aid package from Washington last year.
Incoming President-elect Barack Obama, who met with Calderon on Monday, supports the plan, known as the Merida Initiative, and has promised to help end gun-smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico.
“Americans are concerned about the battle that’s taking place in Mexico, and I want our fellow citizens to understand that this man understands the responsibilities of government to provide security,” Bush said.
“The less drugs we use, the less pressure there’ll be in Mexico. We have got responsibilities to help prevent guns from going from the United States into Mexico.”
Calderon, who also talked to Bush about U.S.-Mexico trade, said his administration was pledged to “fighting criminals and to overcoming them once and for all.”
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
