Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s arrival to Mexico this week came amidst a war of accusations between Mexican and U.S. government officials regarding drug trafficking violence at the border. Most contentious was the report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command which recommended the monitoring of Mexico as a “failing” state, one that could ultimately prove to be unable to withstand the assault of the powerful drug cartels.
Although trade and immigration are also part of the bilateral agenda, security has for now overtaken them as the most pressing issue. Mexico’s position regarding security cooperation with the United States is undoubtedly influenced by a fear of intervention and a historical distrust of U.S. motives. Lately, there has been a growing sentiment that in the war against the traffickers, Mexico has taken more than its share of the burden while the U.S. has settled for finger pointing and limited economic assistance.
Drug trafficking is acknowledged in Mexico and in the United States as a shared challenge that demands a shared strategy in its solution and not much will be accomplished by pursuing a blame game. That appears to have been understood by Clinton. Long the recipient of support by Mexican-Americans on one side of the border, Clinton appears to have successfully “crossed over” in her first visit to Mexico as secretary of state.
With a few well-thought declarations Clinton aimed to generate the atmosphere of good will needed before President Obama’s official visit to Mexico in mid-April. In Mexico City, Clinton told the press something that Mexicans have long been wanting to hear and that will pave the way for future—and more productive—negotiations on the subject. Marking a clear departure from the Mexican incapacity innuendos issued by other U.S. government officials, Clinton accepted co-responsibility for the drug-related violence in the border. Furthermore, she asserted that the U.S. government has until now failed to control the “insatiable” consumption of its citizens or to stop the selling of arms to the drug traffickers, arms that have killed Mexican “policemen, soldiers and civilians.”
