MEXICO, U.S. SET ANTIDRUG PLANS

MEXICO CITY - The U.S. and Mexican governments on Tuesday unveiled a
"guns and butter" strategy for cracking down on Mexico's violent drug
cartels, promising to use not only military force, but social and
economic strategies as well. During a high-profile visit by Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton and a number of senior Obama administration
officials, both sides agreed to expand cooperation under the $1.3
billion Merida Initiative, a program begun in 2008 aimed at helping
Mexico quell rising drug-related violence that has killed some 18,000
people in the past three years.

The strategy goes beyond the initial focus on disrupting drug gangs
through police and military means. It includes trying to strengthen
Mexico's institutions and rule of law; creating a "smart" border that
stops drugs, guns and drug money but allows commerce to continue; and
trying to address the underlying problems that fuel drug violence,
such as lack of job creation. "To combat the long-term effects of the
drug trade, we want people to feel economic security and health
security," Mrs. Clinton said. Mrs. Clinton, accompanied by Defense
Secretary Robert Gates and Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano, said the U.S. would try to speed up the delivery of aid
under the Merida plan. Only $128 million of the Merida money has been
delivered to Mexico.

"The [U.S. delegation] promised to try to resolve bottlenecks in the
delivery of the aid that we need now," Mexico's Foreign Minister
Patricia Espinosa said.

The visiting U.S. officials also pledged to take steps to curb demand
for drugs in the U.S., which they acknowledged was the engine behind
the violence in Mexico. Mrs. Clinton said U.S. anti-drug czar Gil
Kerlikowske would in coming days announce a new plan to curtail drug
consumption. Mrs. Clinton said the administration was looking at
anything that worked in fighting drug cartels. When asked if that
included legalizing or decriminalizing drugs like marijuana, she said
"no." Critics of U.S. drug policy, including some Mexican officials,
say the only way to hurt the cartels is to damage their finances by
legalizing their products. In addition to equipment, such as
helicopters and vans with X-ray machines that can scan passing
vehicles, the U.S. aid also involves training Mexico's federal police
in areas including collecting evidence, giving courses for prison
officials, and promoting a culture of lawfulness in secondary
schools. Some analysts say fixing Mexico's longstanding problems of
police corruption and a dysfunctional legal system is still many
years away. "The U.S. can help, but ultimately, addressing the drug
violence is going to be up to Mexico," says Peter Hakim, president of
the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

Mrs. Clinton heaped praise on Mexican President Felipe Calderon, whom
she called "courageous" for standing up to drug gangs. Shortly after
Mr. Calderon took power, he deployed as many as 45,000 troops
throughout Mexico to try to curb drug gangs, even as he tried to
create an honest corps of federal police. But the violence has grown.

Some analysts and Mexican officials say what is missing is a greater
focus on trying to professionalize Mexico's local cops. "They need to
spend money on local police departments," Jose Reyes Ferriz, the
mayor of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most violent city, said Tuesday.

Officials from both sides said cooperation in anti-drug efforts has
never been better. Ms. Espinosa said the U.S. had helped matters
enormously by acknowledging the role it plays in fostering the
violence and by building better trust with Mexican officials.