Foreign Policy Blogs

Important U.S.-Mexico Summit

President Calderon arrives today on a two-day trip to Washington. The Mexican president will meet with President Obama, Speaker John Boehner, and members of the U.S. business leaders. Though it is a snap visit, it could prove pivotal. Shannon O’Neil of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote over the weekend, “It will, assuredly, be a defining test of Calderón’s statesmanship.”

The immediate cause for the meeting is the attack on two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on February 15. Jaime Zapata died and Victor Avila was wounded when the agents’ SUV took fire on a major road between the Monterrey and Mexico City. As the furor around the attack continues, and news of failed copycat attacks in the last week emerges.

Other factors also feed into what is expected to be a fraught visit. Wikileaks cables from last fall have highlighted a great deal of finger pointing from diplomats in Washington about drug violence. Normally a cool operator, President Calderon has reacted with an unusual fervor, telling El Universal that U.S. policymakers were

As O’Neil wrote, Calderon’s challenge is to rise above the friction and show his diplomatic acumen. For Obama, the challenge will be to actually follow words with action, for instance, by taking some action against the flow of arms into Mexico.

 

Author

Sean Goforth

Sean H. Goforth is a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His research focuses on Latin American political economy and international trade. Sean is the author of Axis of Unity: Venezuela, Iran & the Threat to America.