President's Visit to Mexico Comes at Pivotal Point in Bilateral Relations

/PRNewswire/ -- As ambassador, when government officials visited Mexico, I'd pen a one-pager offering current insight into the bilateral relationship and timely assessments of the economic, political and social situation in the country.

With President Barack Obama's visit April 16-17 to Mexico City, I offer him a similar memo, with advice I hope he's hearing from his own team of advisors.

And, so I begin, Mister President:

U.S. and Mexico relations are at a pivotal point, and in spite of the challenges our countries face from economic and security threats, we must look for ways to forge stronger partnerships and encourage investment by U.S. and Mexican companies in both countries.

The failed state talk that so dominated our headlines these past few months has subsided somewhat, and--I hope--will continue to fade. It was rhetoric that did more to harm our two nations than produce meaningful progress.

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saw firsthand, Mexico is far from finished in its fight against the transnational drug cartels, but there are clear signs of progress and far more awareness in the United State of our own responsibility to reduce consumption and stop the flow of arms to Mexico.

In President Felipe Calderon's first two years in office, the Mexican government has arrested more criminals and seized more weapons, drugs and cash than the previous two administrations over the same period.

Make no mistake, the country is not as safe as it needs to be, but unfair comparisons have been made and substantial progress overlooked. While tragic, drug war fatalities are concentrated largely in areas where cartels war over territory, but the country's homicide rate remains 13 percent below 1997 statistics, and far lower than many other countries in the region.

Our nations are inextricably tied to one another, and we must not only understand this fact, but leverage it for our respective economies, our security and our people.

In spite of its critics, the North American Free Trade Agreement has benefited the United States. Since NAFTA's implementation in 1994, U.S. exports to Mexico have increased by 198 percent. Our countries trade at a pace of nearly $1 billion each day, and bilateral trade totaled more than $367 billion in 2007. Tourism remains a strong economic driver, with more than 21 million visiting Mexico each year, the vast majority from the U.S.

Mr. President, we must focus on trade, and specifically, show leadership and fairness on the trucking provisions in NAFTA. If we don't, we run the risk of further retaliation with additional tariffs on U.S. products, which only jeopardize American jobs. We must stand firm against protectionist measures that would further stifle both countries' economic growth.

These difficult economic times should not lead the U.S. to shy away from investments in Mexico, nor should Mexican companies be afraid to explore opportunities to the north.

Key reforms by Mexico's government in the past two years reaffirm the country's commitment to competitiveness, to job creation and improved living standards.

You've stated your commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and political capital to push reform to reality. It's an uphill battle, as President George W. Bush found out, but it's a battle we should wage.

Mr. President, your visit to Mexico could come at no better time. You should view Mexico as your getaway to the Americas, a perfect bridge both north and south. Take this opportunity to draw on the key regional insights that President Calderon can offer.

Lastly, as you prepare for the upcoming Summit of the Americas, a clearly focused and energetic approach to Mexico relations should be among your highest priorities. Regional security and prosperity is critical to Mexico, and perhaps even more critical to the United States.

Antonio O. Garza, Jr. is the former United States Ambassador to Mexico. He is online at www.tonygarza.com.

Zogby/O'Leary Report Poll Finds Majority of American Voters Don't Fault U.S. Gun Laws for Mexican Drug Violence

/PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has stated that the Obama administration would like to resurrect the Clinton ban on semi-automatic firearms, as well as other gun control laws.

One of the reasons for bringing back these unpopular laws, according to Holder, is that Mexican drug cartels are becoming increasingly violent and warring with Mexican government troops. Holder says that some of the guns being used by the Mexican drug mafia are being obtained illegally from the United States.

Mexico is a country with a reputation for political corruption and a healthy disregard for the individual rights of its citizens. Still, Holder and the Obama administration think that limiting the Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens is a cure for drug violence in Mexico.

However, according to a recent poll conducted by The O'Leary Report and Zogby International, a vast majority of the American voting public disagrees.

The poll, which was conducted March 20-23 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.5 percentage points, asked 4,523 likely voters:

"Mexican officials, gun control groups and officials at the Department of Homeland Security claim drug cartels are crossing the U.S. border in order to obtain guns illicitly. Others say that the Mexican drug cartels are equipped with military hardware including grenades, anti-tank missiles and mortars - all weapons that are not available to the American public. Which of the following do you think is the main source for Mexican drug cartel arms?"

Sixty-five percent of voters say that the international black market is the main source for Mexican drug cartel arms; while only 13.5 percent think these arms are coming from U.S. gun stores (3.5 percent think the arms are coming from somewhere else and 18 percent are not sure).

Among voters aged 18-29 years old, one of President Obama's strongest groups of supporters, 73 percent say international black market, and just six percent say U.S. gun stores (two percent say somewhere else and 19 percent are not sure).

A strong majority of self-described Independent voters (66 percent) also say that the international black market is main source of arms for Mexican drug cartels, and only 12 percent say U.S. gun stores (four percent say somewhere else and 19 percent are not sure).

U.S. Gun Industry Feeds Gun Violence on U.S./Mexico Border, Violence Policy Center Analyst Tells Congress

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Weak regulation of the U.S. civilian gun market and the gun industry's focus on increasingly lethal military-style firearms have combined to fuel the drug war in Mexico and violence in the United States, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Senior Policy Analyst Tom Diaz told a Congressional subcommittee today. For a copy of Diaz's testimony, please see http://www.vpc.org/diaztestify.pdf.

"If one wanted to design a system to pour military-style guns into criminal hands, it would be hard to find a better one than the U.S. civilian gun market," Diaz testified before the Subcommittee on National Security & Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "The only 'better' way would be openly selling guns to criminals from the loading docks of manufacturers and importers."

Diaz pointed out that officials of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have stated that Mexican drug lords increasingly seek military-style weapons easily available on the U.S. civilian market. These include: the Barrett 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifle capable of piercing armor plate from a mile and a half; semiautomatic assault rifles, including variants of the Colt AR-15 and the Kalashnikov AK-47; and, the "vest-busting" anti-armor handgun the FN Herstal Five-seveN 5.7mm pistol, known as the "cop killer" in Mexico.

The VPC has issued numerous studies on the increasing military-bred lethality of civilian firearms in the United States and on the lax regulation of the U.S. gun market. These are available at the website www.vpc.org.

"The U.S. gun market doesn't just make gun trafficking in military-style weapons to drug cartels and their criminal associates in the United States easy," said Diaz, "it practically compels that traffic. Lax regulation of the U.S. gun market and the gun industry's ruthless design choices fit like gloves on the bloody hands of the drug lords and their criminal gang associates."

Diaz told the subcommittee that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder could immediately direct ATF to strictly exercise its statutory authority to stop the importation of all semiautomatic assault rifles as "non-sporting" weapons under existing provisions of the 1968 Gun Control Act.