02/09/2011–In a speech made by Joseph W. Westphal, the United States Under Secretary of the Military, he stated that the “drug trafficking cartels of Mexico are a form of insurgency and potentially could take control of the Mexican government.” He also pointed out that this would force the United States to send troops to the border to fight against this insurgency. Less than twenty-four hours after this statement was given, Westphal retracted his statement by saying that his words expressed were inaccurate and did not represent the views of the government of the United States, or the government’s views towards Latin America. He also said his association between the drug cartels and insurgency was incorrect, although he is not the only government official to have stated these two words together publicly, as Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, had to take back her words on the subject in 2010.
The government of Mexico rejected the claims of the under-secretary, Joseph W. Westphal and said it was unfortunate that he didn’t highlight the work that the two countries have been constructing as a reaction to the drug trafficking cartels. It was also said that the government of Mexico is doing all that it can, given the circumstances, to combat the drug cartels and their organized crimes throughout the country.
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