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Drug violence overshadows North America summit
2009-08-09
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) - US President Barack Obama began his first summit of North American leaders in Mexico, with the economic crisis and swine flu on an agenda overshadowed by grisly Mexican drug violence. Hours before the leaders arrived in Mexico, an armed commando shot dead a lawyer known for her work defending suspected drug smugglers in the north of the country, amid a wave of suspected drug attacks which have left almost 10,000 dead since the start of 2008. Hundreds of soldiers and police deployed in the western city of Guadalajara for the summit between the leaders of an area representing almost 450 million people. Obama expressed "strong support" for Mexico's battle against drug cartels in bi-lateral talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Sunday, a senior US official said, declining to be named. But the US leader -- who has admitted US responsibility for Mexico's drug trafficking problem -- also expressed "the importance of human rights for him, for the United States and frankly for Mexico," the official said. The summit came amid criticism from rights groups and US lawmakers of alleged rights abuses by soldiers involved in Calderon's military crackdown -- which involves around 40,000 soldiers -- and reports of growing Mexican drug gang activity across the United States, Canada and beyond. The Mexican presidency said Calderon and Obama agreed to "continue boosting joint cooperation against organized crime on both sides of the border, based on ... respect for the legal framework of each country." Calderon also brought up delays in delivering part of a 1.4 billion dollar US security aid package known as the Merida Initiative. Canada meanwhile announced that it would increase training by its federal Mounted Police for Mexican officers as part of a new, 15-million-dollar per year security program for the Americas. "Supporting police training in Mexico is one of the most effective ways to fight organized crime and drug trafficking within Canada," said a statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office. Measures to boost the countries' flagging economies arose in bilateral talks ahead of three-way meetings on Monday, which were also due to tackle joint measures to tackle swine flu on the worst-hit continent, climate change, and the crisis sparked by the military-backed coup in Honduras. Like the United States, Mexico has sunk deep into recession, with much of its industry tied to the worst-affected areas of the US economy -- cars and construction -- and migrant workers north of the border sending less money home. Canada and Mexico -- the first and third-largest US trading partners -- were expected to pressure Obama over a "Buy American" clause in the US economic stimulus plan. Calderon on Sunday pushed to resolve an immigration dispute with Canada over the recent imposition of visas for Mexicans, in bilateral talks with Harper. Mexico's ambassador to Canada, Francisco Barrio, said Harper had accepted a recommendation to seek to reform the legislation. The Mexican president also sought to pressure Obama over a trucking dispute which has seen the United States refuse to let Mexican trucks operate on its territory, and provoked Mexico to retaliate by slapping tariffs on a string of US products. Obama "made clear his commitment to work with Congress to address legitimate safety concerns and to work with Mexico to fullfill out international obligations," the US official said. Several hundred people, from children to elderly farmers, marched in a peaceful demonstration Sunday to highlight diverse issues from anti-globalization to US immigration policy, and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which has linked the three nations for 15 years.
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