In a rare display of public probity, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson admitted Thursday that the United States must share the blame for the drug trafficking-related violence that has Mexico locked in a vice-like grip.
Speaking at a press conference with his Mexican counterpart, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray, Tillerson was surprisingly honest.
“There is no other market for these activities,” he said. “It is all coming here. But for us, Mexico wouldn’t have a trans-criminal organized crime problem and the violence that they’re suffering. We really have to own up to that.”
In contrast to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly focused on Mexico’s “bad hombres,” Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly were refreshingly candid. “We have to develop a comprehensive drug demand reduction program in the United States,” Kelly said. “We’ve never done this before.”
The high-level dialogue between senior U.S. and Mexican officials was called to develop new strategies to combat transnational criminal organizations. The results of the meeting should be made public on a few weeks.