'STRONGER' U.S.-MEXICO BOND SOUGHT BY OBAMA

EL PASO -- Over a bowl of tortilla soup, President-elect Barack Obama
and Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa talked about the drug
cartel wars, the environment, immigration, trade and the economy
during an informal meeting Monday in Washington, D.C.

Their encounter took place at a critical juncture of binational
relations, with both sides of the border feeling the effects of a
global recession, questions over the future of free trade and
escalating drug violence.

Regarding their 90-minute meeting at the Mexican Cultural Center,
Obama said, "The friendship between the U.S. and Mexico has been
strong. I believe it can be even stronger."

Later, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the incoming U.S. president
pledged to find ways to work with Mexico to reduce drug-related
violence, stop the flow of arms from the U.S. to Mexico and improve
NAFTA with stronger labor and environmental provisions.

Obama also said he was committed to working with Congress to fix the
"broken U.S. immigration system," Gibbs said.

Calderon said he left the meeting relieved he and Obama will be able
to work on issues of mutual concern.

"In general, we touched on various issues, from security to regional
competition in North American, including with Mexico and Canada,"
Calderon said in a statement. "We also talked about matters of mutual
concern, such as the environment, Mexico's proposed green
(environmental) fund, and on our need to work together on the
critical economic situation the world faces. I proposed we form a
strategic alliance between our two governments to confront the
problems we have in common, and which we ought to resolve jointly,
including security. I believe a more secure Mexico also means the
United States will be more secure."

To underscore the paramount concern over U.S.-Mexico security, U.S.
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, a Democrat who represents a district that
includes East El Paso County, and who serves on the Homeland Security
Appropriations Subcommittee, announced Monday his House proposal to
reduce border violence by cracking down on arms-trafficking.

U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.,
introduced similar legislation Monday in the Senate, which would
provide $15 million in 2010-2011 to expand the U.S. Justice
Department's "Gunrunner" initiative.

"We have made some progress in stopping the ruthless drug cartels,
but illegal trafficking of guns into Mexico continues and we are a
long way from keeping people along the border as safe as they deserve
to be," she said.

Bingaman, who echoed statements by Hutchison and Rodriguez, said, "We
must .. take immediate action to keep these weapons out of the hands
of violent drug gangs."

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, also met with Calderon on Monday,
along with other Democratic leaders of Congress.

"The U.S. Congress has already committed resources through the Merida
Initiative to help Mexico continue its efforts to defeat the drug
cartels and reduce the violence," Reyes said. "I look forward to
working together with my colleagues in Congress, President-elect
Obama and President Calderon to continue these efforts to help
restore peace and stability in Mexico"

The Merida Initiative is aimed at helping Mexico and other Latin
American countries curb drug-related violence and Congress has
authorized a three-year $1.6 billion program that will help train law
enforcement over the next three years.

New Democrat Network President Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN in
Washington, praised the meeting, which he also described as "the
start of a new day for U.S.-Mexico relations." NDN is a think tank
focusing on new media and technology, a new governing agenda and new
demographics.

"Never before has a U.S.Epresident been elected by such an
overwhelming number of Hispanics in the United States," Rosenberg
said. "The United States now has the third largest Latin population
in the Americas and the futures of the United States and Mexico are
bound together as never before. Hemispheric relations have taken a
backseat for too long. Today's meeting is the first step to a genuine
and sustained partnership that addressesEpressing regional and global
challenges. It is the start of a new day for U.S.-Mexico relations."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.