Mexico Under Siege

OBAMA PLEDGES HELP IN MEXICO'S WAR ON DRUG LORDS, WITH AN EXCEPTION

Obama Promises to Step Up Efforts to Curb Guns Flowing into Mexico,
but Says a Revival of the U.S. Assault Weapon Ban Is Not in the Offing.

President Obama pledged Thursday that the U.S. would become a better
partner in curbing the flow of arms that have aggravated a bloody
drug war in Mexico, but acknowledged that political realities make it
tough for him to ban some of the most potent weapons in the arsenals
of drug cartels.

Emerging from a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama
said he favored a ban on assault weapons but would not push to
reimpose a U.S. prohibition that lapsed in 2004.

"None of us is under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be
easy," Obama said at a news conference after talks that dealt in part
with the violence that has swept sections of Mexico.

Instead, he announced plans to increase the number of U.S. law
enforcement personnel at the border to search for smuggled shipments
of guns, even in southbound trains. He also said he would push the
Senate to ratify a decade-old treaty on arms trafficking as part of a
concerted U.S.-Mexican effort to defeat drug gangs.

But despite Obama's high approval ratings and solid Democratic
majorities in the House and Senate, his comments indicated that the
political clout of gun rights advocates, including many Republicans
as well as conservative Democrats, made it doubtful he could
resurrect an assault gun ban.

Congress enacted such a ban in 1994, but it expired after 10 years.
In 2004, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) proposed an extension,
it was voted down, 90 to 8.

Mexican officials have made it clear they want the ban reenacted. But
Obama, as he stood beside Calderon, said other measures would have to suffice.

When it was his turn to answer the assault weapons question, Calderon
struck a patient tone and said he grasped the nuances involved. His
government has seized 16,000 assault weapons since he took office in
December 2006. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives says 90% of weapons seized in Mexico and reported to the
agency can be traced to the United States.

"We understand that this is politically very sensitive because we
know the great esteem Americans have for their constitutional rights,
especially those contained in the 2nd Amendment," Calderon said.

But he cautioned that the widespread violence plaguing Mexico may
spill into the U.S.

"These weapons today are aimed at Mexican authorities and Mexican
citizens, but organized crime is not only present here in Mexico.
It's also in the United States," he said. "I hope to God these
weapons that today are sold in the U.S. and used in Mexico are not
one day also used against U.S. society and U.S. authorities the way
they are here in our country."

Illustrating the dangers, a gun battle on the eve of Obama's arrival
left one soldier and 14 alleged drug traffickers dead in the Pacific
coast state of Guerrero, officials said. About 30 gunmen attacked
troops who were patrolling a remote mountain ridge. A second soldier
was critically wounded.

Increasingly brazen traffickers have started attacking army patrols
head-on. Authorities said the Mexican military, after the battle,
confiscated a small arsenal, including two .50-caliber Barrett
rifles, 17 other rifles, grenades and ammunition and eight vehicles.

Obama's stop in Mexico was scheduled to last less than 24 hours and
was made en route to a summit in Trinidad and Tobago of 34 Western
Hemisphere nations.

There, Obama is likely to face criticism for the long-standing U.S.
trade embargo against Cuba. Calderon said the embargo was "not very
useful" in promoting change. "It was implemented before President
Obama and I were born," he said. "And things in Cuba have not changed much."

Obama has lifted restrictions on Cuban Americans who want to travel
to Cuba. But he opposes lifting the trade embargo, calling it useful
leverage in getting Cuba's rulers to adopt democratic reforms.

The summit will be attended by many staunch U.S. critics, given that
Latin American nations have leaned leftward in recent years. The
White House said Obama was not likely to have a one-on-one meeting
with one of America's harshest critics, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

A purpose of Obama's visit Thursday was to show support for Calderon
after warnings from U.S. military and intelligence officials that
drug cartels pose a mortal threat to the Mexican government. Mexico
objected to such alarm, and the Obama administration has been working
to make amends.

As the first U.S. president to visit Mexico's capital in 12 years,
Obama is delivering a message that he appreciates the courage shown
by Calderon in combating drug lords, White House officials said.

At a welcoming ceremony at Los Pinos, the Mexican equivalent of the
White House, Obama said, "At a time when the Mexican government has
so courageously taken on the drug cartels that have plagued both
sides of the border, it is absolutely critical that the United States
joins as a full partner in dealing with this issue."

Calderon's government has deployed 45,000 soldiers to parts of the
country beset by drug violence. For its part, the Obama
administration has pledged to intensify border patrols and speed up
shipments of military aircraft to help Mexico suppress drug gangs.

Not all Mexicans share Obama's opinion of Calderon. The Mexican
leader has been criticized for underestimating how deeply drug gangs
have corrupted local governments and police forces. Critics also
contend that Calderon is relying too heavily on military force while
neglecting politically sensitive areas that should also be addressed,
such as money laundering, judicial reform and high-level corruption.

Calderon's use of military force also has led to accusations of human
rights abuses. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission has said
citizens' complaints of killings, rape and other abuses have grown
sixfold since Calderon assigned the army to the drug war shortly
after he took office.

Even if Mexico was left disappointed on assault weapons, the two
leaders stressed that they had found common ground on other topics.

Before they met, the White House announced the countries had agreed
to work jointly to curb global warming and develop clean energy alternatives.