U.S. President Barack Obama, reacting to drug violence in northern Mexico, said on Tuesday he would send 1,200 more National Guardtroops and ask for an additional $500 million to secure the almost 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
Calderon said that until now Washington had not properly addressed the need to stop what he called the trafficking of weapons and money into Mexico.
"They have a commitment to uphold the law on the American side and not to use the National Guard for immigration purposes or to deal withimmigration issues," Calderon told a news conference in Ottawa after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"If the National Guard helps toward a common purpose of having a safer border and if they can do this without detaining Mexican migrants, I think this (planned deployment) could bring about positive results," said Calderon, speaking through an interpreter.
The flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico is a very sensitive issue in the United States. Washington says the question can only be solved through comprehensive reform.
The U.S. ambassador to Mexico said on Wednesday that the extra troops would be working in back offices helping intelligence officials process information, or be posted as lookouts between ports of entry.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
Mexico seems to be sending conflicting signals in an already tricky situation. Felipe Calderon says that the U.S. is doing its part on stopping the drug flow across borders, which is supportive to our cause. Yet he says it will only bring about positive results "if they can do this without detaining Mexican migrants." It is obvious the Mexican government is in favor of Mexicans illegally crossing the border, because the money immigrants send back to Mexico is a huge portion of their revenue, but shouldn't they be more supportive of the U.S.?
In theory, yes, Mexico should be more supportive of the United States, but as already mentioned, why would they be when a large portion of their revenue is coming from the illegal immigrants living in the United States? Their economy is hurting badly right now, and migrants benefit the economy because they are able to obtain jobs in the U.S. and often send money home to their families which benefits the Mexican economy. In regards to Mexico's drug war, however, and our country's commitment to help, I do not believe that our government is doing everything in their power to make a positive change. The drug war is a huge part of Mexico's hurting economy, and Americans are partially to blame because we are supplying them with the bulk of their weapons. So it is not surprising that the Mexican government is not entirely supportive of the U.S. because, in all honesty, are we really being entirely supportive of their efforts to end this drug war?
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