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