US allots $ 500,000 to fight drug trafficking in Mexico
Baku, January 24 (AZERTAC). Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday applauded Mexico`s efforts to combat drug trafficking, saying "it is the only way" to end the threat of organized crime.
After meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, Clinton said her country remains committed to collaborating with Mexico in the fight against criminal organizations. "It is very hard, but what (Mexican) President Felipe Calderon has done is absolutely necessary," Clinton said during a press conference. She hailed Mexico`s efforts to combat drug trafficking which she said deserved U.S. support. Since Calderon took office in 2006, Mexico has been facing a war against drug trafficking and organized crime, which have killed 32,000 people, according to official figures.
Clinton said Calderon has done "absolutely everything needed" to combat crime, adding "it is not an easy war." The United States is trying to work together with Mexico to fight money laundering and weapons trafficking, Clinton said. Under the "Merida Initiative," a three-year plan aimed to help Mexico tackle organized crime, the United States will provide Mexico with about 500 million U.S. dollars in equipment and training to detect weapons and illegal money entering the country, she said. Meanwhile, Espinosa said "topics of security are very important, and transnational crime is a common enemy."
The two top diplomats also discussed other topics including "the flows of people and goods, border construction, renewable energy and the transport impasse," as well as advancing the global climate change agenda after the Cancun summit last December, Espinosa said.
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