Note: seems to be some significant confusion about the numbers.
Arms issues also addressed.
The war on drugs in Mexico has left 150 000 dead: US
The statement was made after meeting with his counterparts Guillermo
Galvan and Peter Mackay
El Sol de Morelia
March 28, 2012
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemorelia/notas/n2483826.htm
OEM-Informex and EFE
Mexico City, DF. - Violence between criminal organizations leaves
150,000 deaths a year in every country in the Americas, clarified the
secretariats of Defense and the Navy.
This clarification they gave both agencies after the Secretary of
Defense United States, Leon Panetta, said that in Ottawa, Canada,
which - according to figures provided by officials of Mexico, a total
of 150,000 people have died in the war against drug trafficking in
that country.
The confusion occurred after the Secretaries of Defense, Guillermo
Galvan, and the Navy, Francisco Saynez, talked with their
counterparts in the United States and Canada, Leon Panetta and Peter
Mackay, respectively, during the First Trilateral Meeting of Defence
Ministers North America.
Panetta, during a press conference after the meeting, said that
"obviously one of the serious threats that are facing North, Central
and South America are the drug cartels and drug trafficking that is
occurring."
"The danger here is on several fronts. Number one is the tremendous
violence. I think the numbers that Mexican officials 150.000
mentioned are those who have died by violence mainly between cartels
in Mexico," he added.
Panetta and Mackay said during a news conference that Mexican
representatives were offered a "detailed" report on the war on
organized crime in that country.
In a statement, the Secretaries of Defense and the Navy reported that
"about the killings reportedly occurred by violence between criminal
organizations, participants in this Trilateral Meeting discussed
around 150 000 cases in the Americas to year, and not just those
observed in the case of Mexico. "
"As is public knowledge, the Federal Government has reaffirmed its
commitment to repeatedly to transparency and accountability in
security. Based on this commitment we assembled a database of public
consultation, which has been reported extensively by the media and
allowed a better understanding of the characteristics of the criminal
phenomenon in our country, "they said.
The defense ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States used
their first trilateral meeting to discuss in depth the fight against
drug trafficking, which they described as one of the main threats to
security in the region.
Both the host of the first Trilateral Meeting of Ministers of Defence
of North America, the Canadian Minister Peter MacKay, as U.S. and
Mexican counterparts, Leon Panetta and Guillermo Galvan said at the
end of the summit on drugs "is a serious threat" to throughout the
Americas.
Gen. Galván, who traveled to Canada with his Secretary of the Navy,
Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza said that "the fight against
organized crime and drug trafficking is the highest priority for
Mexico."
Galvan also sought indirectly the illegal flow of weapons from the
U.S. to Mexico, where they are used by criminal organizations in the
fight against Mexican security forces and rival gangs.
"We try to follow the principle of shared responsibility. No doubt
what each country does or does not do has a direct impact on others,"
said the Mexican military.
The United States has been criticized for arms trafficking to Mexico
of high power, but Panetta said Washington is doing everything
possible to stop the flow.
"Our security forces are doing everything they can to try to stop the
movement of weapons. It is difficult but we are focusing on this
effort. We're focusing, along with Mexico and Canada, in confronting
these cartels, to ensure that we pursue and take them to justice,
"said Panetta.
Meanwhile, Mackay said the three countries do not live in isolation
and that "drug trafficking, weapons, if it is a problem for Mexico it
is a problem for Canada."
"We have more than one million Canadians who travel each year to
Mexico and a number have a second home in Mexico. This is a shared
problem. And what you see here today is a desire of the three
countries to confront head on the problems, "said Canadian Defense
Minister.
"General Galvan gave us a detailed picture of the seriousness of the
challenge facing Mexico. What we do today in a more formal way is to
confront human trafficking, drugs and weapons across our borders," he
said.
The three countries also agreed on the summit of Ottawa as a
"historic meeting" agreed to institutionalize meetings of their
defense ministers.
"We enthusiastically support the proposal of Minister Peter Mackay to
institutionalize our dialogue and meet on a regular basis," said Gen.
Galván.
No comments:
Post a Comment