US-Mexico ties: Tensions simmer beneath Calder贸n's visit to White House
| Mexico City
Smiles are likely to be all around when Mexican President Felipe Calder贸n meets with President Obama today at the White House. But simmering beneath the surface, the highest-profile US killing in Mexico in 25 years along with damaging cables released by have pushed bilateral relations to one of their most tense points in Mr. Obama's presidency.
In public statements, diplomats on both sides of the border say bilateral coordination has never been tighter and that the leaders鈥� meeting had been in the works long before US Immigration and Customs (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata was murdered by gunmen in Mexico on Feb. 15.
But President Calder贸n painted a different picture last week in an unusually candid interview with Mexico's El Universal daily newspaper. He said the United States has not done its part to reduce arms trafficking and drug consumption, and lambasted US diplomats in Mexico for leaked cables that called his security forces corrupt and uncoordinated.
American forces are the uncoordinated ones, he added, while calling US Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual 鈥渋gnorant鈥� in connection to the cables.
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So how will Calder贸n handle his list of grievances during this afternoon's visit?
鈥淭he ball is in Calder贸n鈥檚 court,鈥� says Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where Calder贸n is also scheduled to speak today. 鈥淚s he going to come out swinging, saying the US isn鈥檛 doing enough, or is he going to come in to mend fences to some of the tensions? ... Part of me thinks he wants to ratchet up the volume in the relationship.鈥�
What Calder贸n wants
Mexico鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said Calder贸n will likely discuss drug consumption and arms smuggling from the US during his fifth meeting with Obama in two years. Also on the agenda will be keeping money flowing for the $1.6 billion Merida Initiative, which has come in fits and starts.
鈥淭hat there are insufficiencies is precisely what we are trying to address, as well as to strengthen a relationship as important as the relationship between Mexico and the United States,鈥� Mexico鈥檚 Undersecretary for North America Julian Ventura told reporters Tuesday.
Mr. Ventura said both governments will likely renew promises Thursday to speed up funding for the Merida Initiative. He denied local media reports that Calder贸n no longer spoke with US Ambassador Pascual, saying there is a 鈥渄irect and intense鈥� relationship.
Calder贸n will also meet with Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) of Ohio, a powerful force in the opposition-led Congress, where intense budget debates can decide on both Merida funding and gun control measures.
Mexico鈥檚 Senate called on Calder贸n Tuesday to strongly reject tough immigration bills advancing in places like Arizona and Texas during his meeting with Obama.
What Obama might give
In the run-up to the Oval Office summit the Obama administration appeared to extend an olive branch on several thorny issues with Mexico. The US Embassy in Mexico City publicized prominently on its website Wednesday the administration鈥檚 request of more than $10 billion from Congress to reduce drug consumption, which Calder贸n has said the United States has not done enough on.
US Attorney General Eric Holder pressed a congressional appropriations subcommittee Tuesday to fund a proposal from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to track multiple purchases of some semiautomatic rifles in border states. Congress had initially voted against funding earlier this year. Justice Department reports that the gun that killed Zapata in Mexico was traced back to Texas has increased scrutiny of lax gun laws in border states.
But Mr. Holder also said he is considering requesting permission for US agents to carry arms within Mexico after Zapata鈥檚 murder highlighted heightened risks. Calder贸n is not expected to back such a change in policy. A senior Obama administration official said both presidents will discuss improving security for US agents in Mexico during Thursday鈥檚 meeting, The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.
The Feb. 15 shooting of Zapata in the north-central state of San Luis Potos铆 also wounded Agent Victor Avila, who is recovering. Gunmen attacked the agents鈥� vehicle on a busy but dangerous highway. About a dozen suspects from the ruthless Zetas gang were quickly arrested by Mexico's armed forces. The suspects claim they targeted Zapata鈥檚 dark SUV by accident, thinking it was the vehicle of a rival gang.
But some US lawmakers and media reports have questioned that account. Former ICE Deputy Director Alonzo Pena, who has knowledge of the investigation, told the Monitor that the motive for the killing still needs much more investigation and that US investigators were also interested in suspects who were not at the scene of the shooting.
In a separate raid on Sunday, Mexico captured an alleged regional leader of the Zetas who oversaw the cell that attacked the US agents, but it was not immediately clear whether he was directly involved in the killing.
