Homeland Security chief praises Mexico's fight against drug trafficking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

6:23 p.m. February 28, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff praised the Mexican government's fight against drug cartels, but warned that there has been an “uptick” in attacks on Border Patrol officers by criminal gangs.

Chertoff spoke at a gathering of Cabinet-level representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico to discuss security and economic issues in the Baja California resort of Los Cabos.

The Homeland Security secretary praised Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who has sent thousands of federal police and soldiers to outlying states to try to stem a wave of bloody battles and assassinations linked to disputes between drug cartels.

“I think the Calderón administration has done an exemplary job, a wonderful job, in tackling these organized criminal groups,” Chertoff said.

But he noted that “we have seen an uptick in violence against our Border Patrol by these organized criminal groups.”