Obama Comments on Mexico Deceptive, Say Law Officers

by Jim Kouri
Clash Daily Guest Contributor

During President Barack Obama’s press conference in the White House press room on Tuesday, he was asked by a Latino reporter about both the immigration debate in the U.S. Congress and the U.S.-Mexican “war on drugs.” Obama stated he planned to meet with Mexico’s new leader, President Enrique Pena Nieto, on his trip to Mexico City to discuss joint police and anti-drug strategies.

But Obama failed to mention a small problem with his drug cartel-busting plan: Mexico has notified U.S. officials that its federal police and military are terminating the unfettered access it gave to U.S. police and security agencies in fighting drug traffickers and organized crime gangs, characterized by many U.S. law enforcement personnel as narco-terrorists.

“The president’s press conference was jammed with half-truths, evasions and out-and-out misrepresentation, some so stunning that even mainstream reporters took to snarking in their tweets. The tone of condescension was striking,” said the Washington Post‘s Jennifer Rubin.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who was sworn-into office on Dec. 1, 2012, claims that his government is curtailing the direct sharing of intelligence with U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies in order to attempt diplomatic solutions to the death and violence that has all but destroyed his country.

While President Felipe Calderon was praised by many U.S. police officials repeatedly for increasing cooperation between the Mexico and the United States as he led an intense attack on Mexico’s drug cartels, Pena Nieto will probably be heralded by the U.S. left, said a former American narcotics enforcement official.

“In my first conversation with the president he indicated to me that he very much continues to be concerned about how we can work together to deal with transnational drug cartels,” said Obama during the afternoon press conference.

“I’m not going to yet judge how this will alter the relationship between the United States and Mexico until I’ve heard directly from them what exactly they are trying to accomplish,” Obama told the Washington press corp in answer to the Latino reporter’s question.

Many U.S. police officials have said they are not surprised about Pena Nieto likely changing the relationship between U.S. and Mexican security departments. “The new Mexican president is as far-left as other Latin American leaders and as far-left on the political spectrum as President Obama. They believe talking and discussing are viable solutions when dealing with thuggish leaders of rogue nations, Islamofascist terrorist groups, and organized crime gangs such as Mexico’s cartels,” said former drug enforcement and intelligence officer Christopher Colon.

“Under Calderon, the alphabet agencies — FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, ICE and border patrol agents — had almost complete access to units of Mexico’s Federal Police, army and navy and worked side by side with those units,” Colon noted.