Hillary Clinton: Mexican drugs war is Colombia-style insurgency

by Rory Carroll for The Guardian UK, September 9th, 2010.

US secretary of state angers Mexican politicians and raises indignation with idea of sending in American military.

Hillary Clinton has sparked anger in Mexico by comparing its drug-related violence to an insurgency and hinting that US troops may need to intervene.

The US secretary of state said Mexico’s level of car bombings, kidnappings and mayhem resembled Colombia a generation ago. She floated the prospect of US military advisers being sent to Mexico and central America.

“It’s looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, where the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country,” Clinton said at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “These drug cartels are showing more and more indices of insurgencies.”

Signalling growing concern at events south of the Rio Grande, with 28,000 dead in Mexico from drug-related violence in four years, Clinton said the Obama administration was considering a type of “Plan Colombia” for Mexico and central America where Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are also plagued by drug-related violence. (continue reading… )

Watch the Video: Hillary Clinton – Mexico is facing an insurgency.