Excerpts From the Daily Press Briefing Pertaining to Western Hemisphere Affairs Full Briefing
QUESTION: This is a follow-up to the State Department report on narcotics last week. AP interviewed Mexican President Calderon, and he shot back, saying that U.S. corruption is also to blame. He said that there are U.S. officials who should be prosecuted for corruption who aren’t. He also blamed the United States for not stopping the flow of weapons into Mexico. And finally, he says that there was not enough done to stop the consumption of drugs in this country. So just your reaction to his statements?
MR. DUGUID: I do believe that Ambassador Johnson was on the record speaking to many of these same issues in another context, and that the United States does recognize that we have a consumption problem and that we need to do – we need to do a lot to solve that problem or resolve that problem.
The report itself is a tool for Congress to try and address the very problems that the president may have listed, but we are working with our partners to try and solve the problem of cross-border narcotics trades, which are a problem for us all.
QUESTION: Is there an issue of corrupt officials here, as far as you know?
MR. DUGUID: I would refer you to law enforcement – you know, local law enforcement officials to talk about what the problems might be in different jurisdictions. The United States is working with its partners to try and control what is a cross-border problem. It’s an international problem. We recognize that we have a consumption problem in the U.S. and that we have to do something about that to help our colleagues in other countries who are trying to fight this same problem in their country.
