The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
July 3, 2012

Peña Nieto Affirms Commitment to Drug War Crackdown 
-----------------------------------------------------


 
In remarks on Monday, Peña Nieto pledged to continue with a crackdown
against drug cartels in a drug war that has seen tens of thousands of
deaths. Peña Nieto has tapped General Oscar Naranjo, the former head of
Colombia's national police, to be his security advisor, signaling he
will likely continue the U.S.-backed drug war in the same vein as his
predecessor, President Felipe Calderón. Naranjo helped orchestrate a
U.S.-backed crackdown against cocaine trafficking in Colombia that led
to the demise of drug lord Pablo Escobar. More than 47,000 people have
died since Calderón took power in 2006 and announced a crackdown on
drug cartels. Speaking in Washington, State Department spokesperson
Victoria Nuland congratulated Peña Nieto for his apparent victory and
said the U.S. expects continued drug war cooperation from the Mexican
government.
bq. Victoria Nuland: "We are not going to get ahead of a formal seating
of a new government and predict changes in policy one way or the
another, but we are committed to working in partnership with Mexico to
meet the evolving challenges posed by transnational criminal
organizations, and we expect that that great cooperation is going to
continue with a Peña Nieto administration when it is seated."

 

.