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SAN FRANCISCO • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated her support Friday for ending the brutality and barbarity of Mexico's drug violence, saying it was in the United States' interest to crack down on drug cartels that are behaving more like terrorists and insurgent groups.
Clinton told a sold-out meeting of the nonpartisan Commonwealth Club in San Francisco that she was surprised comments she made last month comparing Mexico to Colombia during its past cocaine wars had been critically received.
"This is one of the most difficult fights that any country faces today. We saw it over the last couple of decades in Colombia," she said. "We are watching drug traffickers undermine and corrupt government in Central America, and are watching the brutality and barbarity of their assaults on governors and mayors, the press as well as each other in Mexico."
Similar remarks Clinton made before the Council on Foreign Relations prompted Obama, among others, to say that Mexico was in much better shape politically and economically than Colombia was during the 1980s. Government officials in Mexico also rejected the comparison.
Elaborating on her analysis Friday, Clinton said the United States was prepared to provide Mexico with Black Hawk helicopters, training and equipment for police, and advice on building an independent judiciary and effective corrections system.
"Every American should support what the government of Mexico is trying to do and send a very clear message that we will be their partners and they do need to win this struggle against the drug traffickers," she said.
"These drug cartels are now taking on a lot of the attributes of these terrorists and insurgent groups we see around the world. For the first time they are using car bombings, you see them being much more organized in a kind of paramilitary way."
Clinton described her Friday speaking engagement as only her third domestic public appearance since joining President Barack Obama's cabinet last year.