Chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Praises Secretary Clinton’s Statement in Mexico on U.S. Responsibility in Drug Trade as “Breath of Fresh Air”

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot L. Engel – the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere – made the following statement in response to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s remarks yesterday in Mexico:

"Since the announcement of the Merida Initiative by Presidents Bush and Calderon in October 2007, I have been calling for the United States to openly accept responsibility for its part of the drug crime problem in Mexico and actually do something about it. Secretary Clinton's statements in Mexico yesterday that our demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade and our weapons arm the drug criminals shows we are finally being honest about the situation. Secretary Napolitano's announcement on Monday of new efforts to step up enforcement along the southwest border is a major step in dealing with cross-border security issues. The United States is correct to help Mexico fight the narco-traffickers with the Merida Initiative, but it is now clear that President Obama understands we must confront the problem on our side of the border, too."

In a hearing last week in the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Rep. Engel called on the Obama Administration to enforce the ban on imported assault weapons as a way to stem the illegal flow of arms to Mexico and criticized the Bush Administration for cutting spending for U.S. drug prevention and treatment programs by $73 million at a time when we were telling the Mexican government we would intensify our efforts.

"Secretary Clinton's statement is a breath of fresh air and shows how the U.S.-Mexico relationship is becoming stronger and more mature under the Obama Administration," said Rep. Engel.