| | |  Americas & Beyond 
Concern as US Aid Lags for Mexico
 The News
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March 25, 2010
| “We are aware of the necessity to provide Mexico with more resources as soon as possible.”
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates | |
Washington, D.C. – The United States will deliver resources and equipment to combat drug trafficking “as soon as possible,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Wednesday, as he expressed his concern about the slow pace of the process.
Addressing the Defense Sub-committee of the Mexican Congress, Gates said that he is “as preoccupied (as you are) about the time it’s taking to send planes and helicopters to Mexico.”
“Right now, the dates of dispatch are set up for 2012 and 2013, but several Mexican military leaders mentioned that the house is on fire now. Making firefighters’ trucks available for 2012 is not of any particular help,” he said.
“I don’t think there is any problem with the release (of airplanes) itself,” he added, “the delay is only due to the high demand in helicopters across the world, and we obviously are a major provider,” he said.
“We are aware of the necessity to provide Mexico with more resources as soon as possible,” he added.
This week, the U.S. Secretary of Defense participated in a series of meetings with other high U.S. officials and their Mexican counterparts, in order to analyze several security issues.
On Tuesday, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, announced the execution of a binational study on drug use in the United States and Mexico, in order to better understand the social, economic and political scope of the problem.
In a televised interview, Espinosa said that the study will shed light on current drug policies in Mexico and in the United States, and that several inconsistencies have been observed in the United States as some states tolerate the use of soft drugs for medical purposes while others do not.
In this context, she said, Mexico proposed conducting a study to know the real situation of drug use.
She said that the collaboration between Mexico and the United States is unprecedented, and that both U.S. and Mexican authorities have insisted on the importance of improving intelligence exchanges during Tuesday’s discussions.
Tuesday’s meeting of the Mérida Initiative High-Level Consultative Group took place in an atmosphere of frankness and co-responsibility, filled with firm but friendly conversations, seeking to solve the common problems of the two nations, Espinosa explained.
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