Whack-a-mole: Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Jeffrey S. Davidow, Calls for Strong Action Against the Cartels

An interview with a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, at a conference in Baja California. Both the former ambassador and the governor of  Baja Calfornia have their fantasies.

Orignial in Spanish in El Economista

The former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Jeffrey S. Davidow, evaluated positively the Mexican government’s understanding that "strong" action was necessary to fight organized crime organizations. He recognized the work that Mexico has carried out in the fight against drug trafficking. In his view, it was necessary in the face of the increase in power that these organizations have achieved and the danger this represents.

In an interview after his participation in Baja California on the Move Conference a business meeting of the wind energy sector, Davidow said it is important to strengthen the bilateral cooperation that has been made in recent years, acknowledging that it is a shared responsibility. However, Davidow agreed that drug trafficking is something that will continue and one can only create better conditions to prevent its recurrence.

The governor of Baja California, José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, declared that to reduce the violence sparked by drug trafficking, the U.S. should eliminate the sale of weapons, control the dollars made by selling drugs and reduce drug consumption. He said, for its part, Mexico must continue the frontal assault against drug trafficking to obtain good results. "It is time that the Mexican state put a stop to it and we must all work together ... if we don’t do this, then the drug traffickers, themselves, will take public control.

On the other hand, the governnor said that in the case of Baja California, thanks to bilateral cooperation, the crime rate for local and federal law is going down. Dec. 14, 2010