Clinton steps up war on Mexican drug gangs

Clinton said the joint US-Mexico response would not be limited by "borders or bureaucratic divisions", adding the drug gangs were at war with the US as well as the Mexican government.

The US pledge comes after two US consulate employees were murdered earlier this month in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Underscoring concern, the one-day delegation included senior figures such as Defence Secretary Robert Gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Mike Mullen, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Clinton said it was time to tackle the deeper social issues that fuel the narcotics trade, and also to move beyond efforts to disrupt trafficking organisations and seek to strengthen law enforcement agencies.

She promised to step up US efforts to prevent guns from flowing south from the US to Mexico and to work to address illegal drug demand in both countries.

Listen Analysis - Helen Yaffe of University College London   24/03/2010 by Marjorie Hache   Listen (03:31)

“I think the significance of Clinton’s declaration was a recognition that demand for drugs from the United States and the US population is fuelling the drug trafficking and the consequent drug violence,” says Helen Yaffe of University College London.

But, she adds, “There are much broader socio-economic problems and swamping the place with military personnel really is just introducing more armaments onto the scene and is really not going to help.”

Poverty and the lack of employment are among the root causes of the crime, Yaffe told RFI. 

“These are poor people who are forced into taking up this highly risky, highly rewarding form of employment because since Mexico joined the [North American Free Trade Agreement] Nafta agreement there has really been a deterioration of the Mexican economy.”

About 18,000 people have been killed nationwide in incidents surrounding the narcotics trade in the past four years – more than 4,000 in Ciudad Juarez alone since 2008.