by the El Reportero’s news services
Fernando Gómez Mont
Fernando Gómez Mont, the interior minister, came out strongly on April 25 against a proposal floated by the former US president Bill Clinton (1993-2001) that the U.S. and Mexico should model their anti-drugs strategy on the US ‘Plan Colombia’. Gómez Mont’s unequivocal rejection of Clinton’s tentative suggestion, floated in a speech at a conference at the Universidad del Valle de México on April 24, shows how touchy Mexico is about US policy.
Gómez Mont not only rejected Clinton’s suggestion but also said some harsh things about the US appetite for drugs and its inability to stop Mexican gangs exploiting US gun laws to arm themselves. He said that the US should be “ashamed” of both facts.
Pulp-mill verdict satisfies honor on both sides of River Uruguay
The International Court of Justice at The Hague finally delivered its verdict on 20 April in the long-running confl ict between Argentina and Uruguay over the construction of a pulp mill on the Uruguayan side of the River Uruguay. Its evenhanded ruling allowed both governments to claim victory, although Uruguay is ultimately the real winner as it will not have to relocate the mill.
The foreign ministries of both countries quickly arranged a meeting between President Cristina Fernández and President José Mujica, for 28 April, to put the confl ict behind them but a defi nitive resolution rests on Fernández showing the political will to take on local protest groups to end the blockade of an international bridge between the two countries. (Latin News contributed to this report).
