Mexican President Comes to Washington: What will

come of President Calderón’s visit to Washington?

• It no longer is just Mexico’s drug war as violence and corruption begins to engulf the U.S.
• No prospect that the U.S. will adequately fund the anti-drug war.
• Drug battle places a crushing strain on Mexican economy.
• If and when barriers to Mexico’s ground transports to the U.S. are entirely lifted, a crisis arising from the smuggling of drugs and migrants into the U.S. is sure to follow.

President Felipe Calderón arrived today in Washington, D.C. for a brief visit. His trip will mark one of the few occasions that may allow a Mexican president in the foreseeable future to penetrate the fog that surrounds his country’s relations with its all-powerful northern neighbor. The Mexican President is expected to address the recently reinvigorated anti-drug strategy and to express his concern over Arizona’s contentious new immigration measure.

United States and Mexico share a complex relationship with respect to cross-border issues, including free trade, drug trafficking, and the treatment of undocumented Mexicans who migrate illegally to the U.S. Today Mexico is reeling from persistent drug-related violence, which, in recent years, has accounted for tens of thousands of casualties, reflecting one of the highest homicide figures in the world. The disappearance last weekend of Diego Fernández de Cevallos, a former PAN (Partido Acción National) presidential candidate and a close personal friend of President Calderón, is the latest high-profile victim of the conflict.

For full article click here