Calderon's drug-war talks, the latest session with
leaders of most of the country's opposition political parties, come as the
government offensive against drug cartels is drawing more criticism. More than
28,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon launched the
offensive in late 2006, sending thousands of troops to drug hot spots.
"I know that the strategy has been questioned, and
my administration is more than willing to revise, strengthen or change it if
needed," Calderon said at the meeting. "What I ask, simply, is for
clear ideas and precise proposals on how to improve this strategy."
The series of meetings started last week with Calderon
calling together academics, experts and civic groups to exchange ideas on
combating drugs.
For more than 3 1/2 years, Calderon fiercely defended his
policies, even as vicious cartel turf battles and attacks on police spread deep
into Mexico and all along the regions bordering the United States.
He now appears more willing to discuss alternatives -
even the legalization of drugs, a proposal that he personally opposes. Calderon
repeated his argument again Tuesday that unilateral legalization would increase
drug use and do little to reduce the cartels' income.
Some of the toughest criticism from the opposition
leaders came on the subject of money laundering. An estimated $10 billion in
suspicious cash possibly linked to drug trafficking flows through Mexico
annually, fueling the cartels' violence and ability to bribe officials.
"The government's strategy is not working,"
said Jesus Ortega, leader of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party. "I
don't think there even is a strategy ... A government policy implies attacking
this financial system that benefits from money laundering, and as a
consequence, benefits from the violence."
While Mexico imposed tough restrictions on U.S. dollar
transactions in June, limiting tourists and Mexicans without bank accounts to
exchanging a maximum of $1,500 in cash each month, critics claim little has
been done to combat laundering through banks or other businesses.
"This money - millions and millions of dollars -
isn't stuffed under the mattress of the drug lords or the hit men," Ortega
said. "The largest part of this money, the immense majority, is in the
banks and financial institutions of Mexico and the United States."
Calderon says officials from Mexico's Treasury Department
and central bank are drawing up a new strategy to fight money laundering.
"I have asked that this be presented this
week," Calderon said, but did not offer specific details.
The Mexican Banking Association proposed earlier this
month that the government impose limits on cash transactions in pesos as well
as dollars.
Association vice president Luis Pena proposed at the time
that transactions conducted in cash be limited to about 50,000 pesos ($4,000).
Calderon said Mexico has had a hard time hiring the kind
of financial experts needed to fight money laundering, because wages in the
private sector are higher and the risks of government service are greater.
Other political leaders at the meeting said government
needs to do more to provide educational and job opportunities for youth who
otherwise might lapse into drug addiction or be recruited by drug cartels.
On Tuesday, Mexican troops detained seven people counting
more than 16 million pesos ($1.2 million) in cash inside a home in northern
Mexico and a gunman who was guarding the house, the Defense Department said.
The department said the gunman ran inside the house in
the Monterrey suburb of Guadalupe after seeing the soldiers, who gave chase and
found the other suspects.
