Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MEXICO1688
2007-04-03 19:31:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Mexico
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR CODEL THOMPSON, 10-11 APRIL 2007

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR SMIG SNAR MX 
pdf how-to read a cable
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 001688 

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SMIG SNAR MX
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL THOMPSON, 10-11 APRIL 2007

THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE HANDLE
ACCORDINGLY.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 001688

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
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PLEASE PASS TO CODEL THOMPSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SMIG SNAR MX
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL THOMPSON, 10-11 APRIL 2007

THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE HANDLE
ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador Garza and Mission Mexico
welcome you to Mexico City. Since his December 1
inauguration, President Felipe Calderon has taken several
bold actions to confront the public security challenges
facing Mexico: he has launched major military-backed surge
operations against drug traffickers in nine of the most
conflictive states; he has begun work on his campaign pledge
to overhaul the structure of Mexico's national police,
including by unifying several autonomous federal police
forces; he is advancing the long process to achieve justice
reform, including oral trials; and his administration has
extradited to the United States 37 wanted criminals,
including 4 drug king-pins. Calderon's initial actions in
office reflect his commitment to continue and even intensify
security-related cooperation with the United States, and his
willingness to incur political risk in doing so.


2. (SBU) Summary continued: Your visit will demonstrate our
support for bold Mexican leadership, reaffirm our
security-related priorities with the new administration and
our continued commitment to the Security and Prosperity
Partnership (SPP) framework, and build on our relationship
with Calderon's national security team. Given local
sensitivities, it will be important to convey that we
understand and appreciate that Mexico is engaging in security
cooperation both for its own national interests and as a
responsible neighbor. End summary.

Immigration
--------------


3. (SBU) Immigration remains by far the most sensitive issue
in our bilateral relationship, one on which no Mexican
politician can afford to be seen as capitulating. The
Mexican public draws little distinction between documented
and undocumented immigrants, seeing both as ordinary,
hard-working people who have been driven to the United States
by economic adversity. Many Mexicans perceive the U.S.
concern with undocumented immigrants as hypocritical, since
they fill jobs Americans are unwilling to take. For his
part, President Calderon recognizes that immigration reform

is a U.S. domestic matter that is largely out of his hands
and dependent upon U.S. congressional action. He places
great emphasis on creating opportunities and jobs for
Mexicans inside Mexico. In your meetings with your Mexican
interlocutors, we encourage you to address the prospects for
immigration reform in the U.S., explain U.S. domestic
political factors affecting the issue of migration, and help
your Mexican interlocutors maintain realistic expectations.

Border Security
--------------


4. (SBU) The protocols addressing border violence that we
entered into with the GOM last year on a trial basis in two
sites have been successful. Informally, these protocols have
been extended to cover the entire border in California and
Arizona, and we would like to see them extended along the
remainder of the border. Through these protocols, joint
Border Violence and Public Safety working groups meet locally
on a monthly basis to discuss incidents of and mechanisms to
address cross-border violence (incidents of which are
mounting).


5. (SBU) The SRE is quick to posture on incidents of
violence against undocumented aliens: on February 8, it
issued a press release calling for an investigation into the
attack earlier that day by unidentified persons on a group of
aliens near Tucson, that resulted in the deaths of three
persons. Likewise, the occassional cases in which Border
Patrol agents (often acting in self-defense) injure or kill
undocumented aliens inevitably provoke a sharp reaction here.
Your visit can reinforce our message that we are concerned
by the violence that is an unfortunate bi-product of illegal
migration and that we need to work together to ensure safe,
orderly and legal border crossings, while stemming the flow
of illegal migrants.


6. (SBU) The proposed border fence is an extremely sensitive
issue, and in public settings, GOM officials frequently
posture on it. In this regard, minor incidents on the
border, associated with infrastructure development, can
quickly become public disputes. In early March, the SRE
issued a press release condemning an "incursion" when U.S.
border agents briefly entered Mexico to extinguish a brush
fire that quickly spread from the northern side of the
border. Should the issue arise, we believe it is useful to

MEXICO 00001688 002 OF 004


emphasize that improved border security measures are part of
a broader immigration reform effort that is taking shape in
the U.S.

Counter-Terrorism and WMD
--------------


7. (SBU) President-elect Calderon fully understands the
depth of our concerns about international terrorism and the
transformational effect of the 9/11 attacks on USG policy;
his commitment to work with us to preempt terrorist activity
or entry through our shared border is unwavering. With a
strong foundation for joint counter-terrorism cooperaton
established, the GOM's commitment to the issue should be
recognized. We are now making progress with the GOM in
developing information sharing mechanisms. With respect to
WMD, the GOM -- on its own initiative -- has requested our
assistance in strengthening its detection capacities.

Drugs
--------------


8. (SBU) Mexico is a central partner in USG efforts to
combat drug trafficking and other trans-border threats. The
2000-mile border, with its high-volume ports of entry, and
Mexico's maritime waters and airports, are vulnerable to
criminal penetration. As much as 80 percent of all the
cocaine consumed in the United States transits Mexico.
Mexico is a major source of heroin, methamphetamines, and
marijuana, and the primary placement point for criminal
proceeds from the U.S. into the international financial
system. While taking aggressive measures to tackle the
problem at home, President Calderon has also publicly urged
the United States to boost our own efforts to drive down
demand for narcotics and improve controls on arms, cash, and
precursor chemicals smuggled into Mexico.


9. (SBU) A still-evolving draft bill in the Mexican Congress
would, (i) authorize state and municipal police to enforce
Mexico's drug laws, which until now have been the subject of
exclusive federal jurisdiction, (ii) stiffen penalties on
drug dealers, and (iii) codify existing practice not to
prosecute some first-time offenders found in possession of
single-use quantities of drugs for personal use, on the
condition that they obtain counseling. While we believe the
first two provisions are extremely useful law enforcement
tools, the third provision has generated some concern. On
the other hand, it has been GOM practice not to prosecute
those found in possession of small quantities of drugs for
personal use, and the draft bill would make it clear that
such an exemption from prosecution would only apply to first
time offenders.

Facilitating Legal Trade
--------------


10. (U) Legitimate two-way trade in goods and services
between the U.S. and Mexico reached more than USD 368 billion
in 2006, over one billion dollars a day. Much of this trade
passes through overtaxed facilities along our common border.
Numerous studies and trade groups, including the private
sector North American Competitiveness Council, have stressed
that border facilities and procedures should be improved
significantly to accommodate current trade flows and expected
future growth. We can accomplish this by, inter alia:
extending and/or synchronizing operating hours at U.S. and
Mexican facilities at the same border crossing; sharing best
practices among ports of entry; cutting back on redundant
inspections; employing new technologies to track and speed
the secure movement of cargo; identifying critical
infrastructure investments needed on both sides of the
border; and involving the private sector to make the North
American supply chain more secure and efficient. At the
March 2007 summit between President Bush and Calderon, both
governments agreed to increase efforts to facilitate
legitimate trade across the border. In response, the U.S.
and Mexican governments already have each formed a senior
level working group to make progress by the August 2007
Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) summit.

The Southern Border
--------------


11. (SBU) Mexico's southern border remains extremely
vulnerable to illegal immigration, trafficking in persons,
and the smuggling of all manner of contraband, including
drugs/precursors. It is an issue of great concern to the
GOM, which attributes its lack of success in dealing with the
problem to the difficult local terrain; the lack of
enforcement infrastructure; the historically informal nature

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of the border, particularly among local residents; and the
inadequate border security efforts of its southern neighbors,
Guatemala and Belize. Nevertheless, progress in securing
Mexico's southern border is of vital importance in achieving
our own security objectives. Calderon recently announced
plans for a Safe Southern Border Program, designed to
strengthen Mexico's law enforcement efforts in the south,
improve treatment of illegal immigrants, and create a guest
worker program for Central Americans. In your meetings, you
may wish to inquire about the status of Mexican efforts to
develop a comprehensive strategy to secure the southern
frontier.


12. (SBU) Note: Historically, we have provided considerable
assistance to help modernize and professionalize Mexican law
enforcement institutions and operations throughout the
country. In the coming years, the USG will complement the
GOM's efforts at strengthening its control over the movement
of persons and goods north from Mexico's southern border. We
train thousands of Mexican federal and state police,
prosecutors and investigators every year. The USG also
provides substantial material assistance, such as computers
and cargo screening equipment, to improve Mexico's law
enforcement infrastructure. State Department/INL funding for
these and other types of training and assistance programs
will decline by 25% by FY08 from FY06 levels. End note.

Trafficking in Persons
--------------


13. (SBU) Notwithstanding considerably increased GOM
attention, trafficking in persons (TIP) remains a problem
here: Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country
for persons being trafficked for purposes of both labor and
sexual exploitation. A federal anti-trafficking law passed
the Mexican Senate in December 2005 by a vote of 95-0, but it
has been stalled in the lower house of Congress. GOM
officials and lawmakers have stated that passage of the law
is a priority for the current congressional session. State,
ICE and USAID have active assistance programs here for
organizations fighting TIP, and to assist states seeking to
draft their own TIP laws. In the last year, state
legislatures passed anti-trafficking laws in Chihuahua,
Guerrero and Michoacan. Within four months of passing the
legislation, the Chihuahua attorney general's office already
has initiated investigations into two TIP cases.

Consular Issues
--------------


14. (SBU) One of the clearest indicators of the deep links
between our two societies is our consular workload in Mexico.
About one third of all USG employees stationed in Mexico are
dedicated to providing consular services. An estimated one
million American citizens reside in Mexico and about 12
million visit every year. Most Americans rarely encounter
problems here, but each year hundreds are arrested,
assaulted, die, fall ill, or become destitute, and seek
assistance from consular employees. More abductions of U.S.
citizen children take place (in both directions) between the
U.S. and Mexico than anywhere else in the world. The
migration of U.S. citizen retirees to Mexico has provided
impetus to improving property rights protections in Mexico,
including the introduction of title insurance offered by U.S.
insurance companies. The air phase of the Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative went into effect January 23 with few
problems and 99 percent of U.S. citizen passengers bound for
the U.S. carried passports. The land and sea phase, which
will go into effect before June 2009, will present a greater
challenge due to the fact that there may be as many as
700,000 U.S. citizens residing in Mexico without
documentation who will need passports.


15. (SBU) U.S. Consular Sections in Mexico processed about
1.3 million nonimmigrant visa applications last fiscal year,
including 114,000 temporary worker (H2) visas (71 percent of
the world total),of which almost 35,000 were temporary
agricultural workers (92 percent of the world total). There
are no numerical limits on temporary agricultural worker
visas and Mission Mexico stands ready to process much greater
numbers of these visas if U.S. agribusiness chooses to make
greater use of this program. All immigrant visas in Mexico
are issued in Ciudad Juarez, where we processed about 86,000
immigrant visa applications in 2006, of which 54,000 were
issued. This is the greatest number of immigrant visas
issued to any one nationality in the world. This fluid legal
movement of Mexicans northward, along with long-standing
documented and undocumented communities in the U.S., make the
US $25 billion in remittances that Mexicans send home
Mexico's second largest source of foreign exchange revenues,

MEXICO 00001688 004 OF 004


behind petroleum and now ahead of tourism.

Political and Economic Backdrop
--------------


16. (SBU) President Felipe Calderon is off to a strong
start, demonstrating leadership at home and abroad in a
manner much appreciated by Mexicans: although he won election
with a bare 36% plurality in a three-way race, a recent
opinion poll showed that 58% of Mexicans approve of his
performance to date. From the beginning, he has shown
himself eager to build on an already strong U.S.-Mexico
relationship. Calderon faces significant domestic challenges
in pursuing his security, economic and social reform agendas,
including a closely divided Congress. At the same time, he
must chip away at the historic Mexican ambivalence toward the
U.S. that has slowed progress on many common fronts,
including security.


17. (U) President Calderon inherited a stable, growing
economy tightly linked to U.S. economic cycles. Mexico
chalked up an estimated 4.7% growth rate in 2006, rebounding
from near zero growth in the first years of the decade. Real
GDP growth is expected to slow to around 3.5% this year.
Inflation has risen in recent months to around 4%, but is
under control. Public finances have improved steadily in
recent years, boosted by sound macroeconomic management and
high oil prices. After crude oil revenues, remittances have
become Mexico's second largest source of foreign exchange,
ahead of foreign direct investment and tourism receipts.
Remittances -- which support many of the poorest families in
Mexico -- totaled $23 billion in 2006, up 15% from 2005.
Mexico's exports to the U.S. (which account for almost 90% of
all Mexico's exports) continue to grow at double-digit rates.
Many here are growing concerned, however, about Mexico's
ability to compete in an increasingly globalized world, as it
loses market share to India, China and other emerging
economies.


Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity
GARZA