DHS SECRETARY NAPOLITANO AND ATTORNEY GENERAL

202258 2009-04-14 16:02:00 09MEXICO1048 Embassy Mexico CONFIDENTIAL R 141602Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6006 DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE TAGS: PREL PTER ETRD MX C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 001048 E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER ETRD MX SUBJECT: DHS SECRETARY NAPOLITANO AND ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER MEET WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALDERON Classified By: CDA Leslie Bassett for reasons 1.4 b,d ¶1. (C) Summary: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder held a wide-ranging conversation with President Felipe Calderon April 3 which covered the range of security issues from border infrastructure to the rising price of cocaine in the U.S. DHS Secretary Napolitano laid out a number of specific measures she hoped the U.S. and Mexico could move forward on. Attorney General Holder discussed drug courts and rehabilitation efforts in the U.S. President Calderon reiterated his belief the U.S. should reinstitute the ban on assault weapons and consider a national weapons registry. The cordial conversation served as a good summary of the two U.S. cabinet members' separate but hectic rounds of meetings in Mexico including their participation in the April 1-3 binational arms trafficking conference. End Summary. Arms Trafficking ¶2. (C) AG Holder opened the conversation by reviewing the very fruitful conversations held during the two-day arms trafficking conference between U.S. and Mexican subject matter experts. Secretary Napolitano suggested one way of dealing with arms trafficking would be increased inspections of travelers leaving the U.S. for Mexico. She had recently ordered additional resources to the border for increased southbound inspections, and offered to coordinate inspection points with Mexico so Mexican Customs could apply its inspection resources in complementary areas. She highlighted the utility of trained canine units to USG detection efforts. Secretary Napolitano also observed that as the U.S. and Mexico became more successful at controlling land crossings, smugglers would likely move to maritime routes, putting pressure on the Mexican Navy. Calderon acknowledged the utility of canines, noting that Mexico was working to develop its own canine training facility. The President also reiterated that Mexico believes the 2004 expiration of the U.S. ban on assault weapons directly affected the more aggressive posture by drug cartels today, and asked that the U.S. consider re-imposing the ban while acknowledging the political difficulties. The President also requested that the U.S. consider a national weapons registry to make tracing weapons more efficient, especially after re-sale. AG Holder noted that to support ongoing investigations of arms traffickers the U.S. needed to request ready access to weapons held by the Mexican army in warehouses, so those weapons could be traced. Border Infrastructure ¶3. (C) President Calderon noted that he was very interested in a safer border and hoped that technology would advance so that every vehicle could pass through non-invasive inspection without inconvenience to legitimate travelers or shippers. He asked for USG assistance to expand Mexico's inventory of non-invasive inspection equipment (NIIE). Mexico would tighten border inspections and criminals would learn they can't use the border for crime. Secretary Napolitano noted the Obama Administration's March 20 announcements increased law enforcement presence at the border, a step Calderon said Mexico welcomed. Foreign Secretary Espinosa added that militarization of the border would be a difficult issue for Mexico. Sec. Napolitano noted that the decision to move additional National Guard forces to the border was currently under review, but should it be favorable the National Guard would serve only in support roles to CBP. President Calderon then presented Secretary Napolitano with a list of six border crossing projects (Otay Mesa, Anzalduas, El Chapparal, Guadelupe-Tornillo, Colombia-Webb and San Jeronimo-San Teresa) which he hoped could be accelerated, perhaps in time for President Obama's visit. Secretary Napolitano noted that the stimulus bill included additional resources for ports of entry, and added that she and Secretary Espinosa had agreed to look at aligning our visions of the border over the longer term. Cooperation Against Security Threats ¶4. (C) Mexican Secretary of Government Gomez Mont cited the recent successful collaboration between ICE and Mexican Customs to stop smuggling from the government oil company Pemex. This was an example of great cooperation, Secretary Gomez-Mont stressed. Mexico looked forward to launching very soon a fusion task force to detect and deter criminal activity across Mexico, and hoped it could link to U.S. intel centers like EPIC once it was up and running. President Calderon praised cooperation with both DOJ and DHS, then solicited Attorney General Holder's support regarding acquisition of some equipment the Mexican intelligence agency CISEN was hoping to purchase, but which had been held up due to reservations expressed by a DOJ agency. Calderon also highlighted excellent cooperation between the Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. ¶5. (C) President Calderon acknowledged that Mexico had an increasing drug consumption problem, and solicited USG support in sharing successful techniques to rehabilitate serious addicts. AG Holder noted that the U.S. would engage more aggressively in demand reduction in the coming years, allocating significant resources to drug courts that would supervise mandatory treatment for addicts, or remand them to prison if they failed treatment. These programs were very successful, the Attorney General said. Prevention and rehabilitation programs would take markets away from the cartels. Calderon agreed, then added that as Mexico became more successful in interdicting drugs like cocaine, for example, the market price would rise higher in the U.S., providing a greater incentive to traffickers to stay in the business. He needed the benefit of U.S. expertise to understand how, working together, we might drive the price of drugs down so cartels would not longer see trafficking as a profitable enterprise. Secretary Napolitano took the opportunity to congratulate President Calderon on Mexico's success in clamping down on precursor chemicals for methamphetamine production. ¶6. (C) Calderon then turned to his efforts in Ciudad Juarez, noting that Mexico sees a success in Juarez as a benchmark for its security strategy. Since he had dispatched the military and federal police to Juarez, Calderon noted, crime had fallen 80 percent. Yesterday was the first time in years, he continued, that there had not been a single murder in Chihuahua. Calderon said he recognized the military did not pose a permanent solution, so would work to reform and equip local police, and insist on the support of local authorities. Both AG Holder and Secretary Napolitano said the U.S. applauds Calderon's efforts and appreciates the sacrifices of the agents and soldiers working toward a secure Mexico. Migration ¶7. (C) President Calderon agreed that migration was a difficult issue in these economic times. He appreciated President Obama's commitment to comprehensive migration reform. For Mexico the near-term challenge was to work to change the image of Mexico so that any migration debate, when the time was appropriate, would not be colored by anti-Mexican sentiment. He also hoped there might be an opportunity to expand the temporary worker visa programs in sectors where labor shortages might still be a challenge. DHS Secretary Napolitano noted that she and Foreign Secretary Espinosa had discussed a high level group to discuss migration issues as they pertained under existing legislation, as there was certainly more we could do together on that front. She looked forward to working with colleagues at the Department of State and Justice on this idea. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT