Mexican President Felipe Calderon says threats his government received from drug traffickers will not stop its nearly nationwide military crackdown, and he is calling on the US to do more to battle drugs within its own borders.
In an exclusive interview on Saturday aboard his presidential plane, Calderon said he would push US President George W. Bush to respect migrant rights and do more in his own drug battle when the two meet tomorrow in the colonial city of Merida, Mexico.
"We are, at the end of the day, putting our lives on the line in this battle, and the United States has to come up with something that is more than symbolic gestures, much more," Calderon said.
Calderon said members of the federal government have received threats from drug traffickers.
"There have been a lot of threats -- whether they have been false or real -- but they won't stop us from taking action," he said during his return from a visit to southern Chiapas state, where he celebrated his first 100 days in office.
Since taking office on Dec. 1, Calderon has sent thousands of troops and federal police to areas controlled by drug traffickers, including Mexican cities along the US border, his home state of Michoacan, and the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.
He also began extraditing major drug lords to face justice north of the border, something that the US had urged Mexico to do for years.
Those actions were aimed at halting a bloody turf war between cartels that has included beheadings of rival gang members, shootouts and executions.
Calderon said that so far, the crackdown has allowed the Mexican government to retake control of several cities and return "basic levels of security" to those who live there. And he said there is evidence that drug killings have been reduced. But he said the US must take responsibility for contributing to the problem.
"Mexico can't diminish the availability of drugs while the US hasn't reduced its demand. It's an elemental equation," he said.
He welcomed Bush's visit to Latin America and urged the US leader to make the region a priority once again. Immigration reform and other important issues for Mexico took a back seat to security in the wake of Sept. 11.
"There's a Mexican saying: `Better late than never,'" Calderon said.
However, Calderon -- a close ally of the US who has sparred with Venezuelan President Chavez -- rejected the idea he would lead the region's anti-Venezuela campaign.
"I am not interested in playing a role with Bush in that aspect," he said, adding: "The United States has a lot to do to regain respect in Latin America."
RSS