US, Mexico play up their increased security ties

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted Friday the US and Mexico arebolstering cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, brushingaside concerns about the impact of his boss Donald Trump’s anti-Mexicanbarbs.The US-Mexican relationship has been strained by Trump’s attacks onMexican immigrants and the North American Free Trade Agreement — and hisinsistence on building a border wall.Critics say he is jeopardising the US relationship with an ally andneighbour whose cooperation Washington needs on a range of issues,including security.But as Tillerson kicked off his first major tour of Latin America, heand his Mexican counterpart sought to play down any tensions, focusinginstead on fighting what the former oilman turned secretary of statecalled the “devastating impact” of the international narcotics trade.“We’ve created...a different approach as to how we co-operate to attackthe entire supply chain of this devastating impact of drugs — cocaine,heroin, fentanyl, opioids,” Tillerson said after meeting with MexicanForeign Minister Luis Videgaray and Canada’s Chrystia Freeland in MexicoCity.“This is having a horrible effect on American citizens, Mexican citizens, Canadian citizens.”In October, Trump declared the US opioid crisis a national public healthemergency, after overdoses of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl killedmore than 40,000 people in 2016.Videgaray said all three countries had agreed to place “specialemphasis” on fighting both the supply and demand side of the problem:the Mexican drug cartels fueling a wave of bloodshed in his country, andthe US and Canadian consumption making it a multi-billion-dollarbusiness. “The paradigm has to be one of cooperation, not blaming eachother,” he said.Tillerson later met with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, sayingthey both agreed the two countries’ relationship remained strong.“We have too many things of common interest that we need to be workingon to allow anything to get in the way,” Tillerson told US embassy staffafter the meeting.Mexico and Canada’s top diplomats also played down tensions, despiteTrump’s tirades and a recent series of trade disputes between theWashington and Ottawa.“In many ways the relationship today is more close, it’s more fluid,than it was with the previous administration. That might be a surprisefor many people, but it’s a fact,” Videgaray said.Freeland said Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “reallyget along” and called Tillerson “an incredibly important voice inmaintaining the rules-based international order.”But it was impossible to paper over tensions on certain issues.Videgaray stayed mum as Tillerson sought to explain Trump’s wallproposal and immigration crackdown as part of a shared security push.Deporting those who lack immigration papers fits into Trump’s law andorder agenda, even if it is “painful” for some people, Tillerson said.Videgaray said both that and the wall were internal decisions for the US government.But he added that a mass exodus of “Dreamers” — who were illegallybrought to the United States as children and are now at the centre of abitter political battle — would be “an enormous gain for Mexico and aloss for the United States.”Tillerson flew out Friday evening for Argentina, and will then visitPeru, Colombia and Jamaica, pushing for stronger action on Venezuela andtouting his vision of deeper co-operation.