General Charles Jacoby, the new head of U.S. military's Northern Command, stressed the need for closer cooperation between U.S. and Mexico in the fight against transnational organized crime.
Speaking at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado on Friday, Jacoby said that the U.S. shared responsibility with Mexico for the security problems created by drug trafficking.
The general declared that the two countries had shared objectives which could be furthered through increased information-sharing, exchange of expertise, and closer cooperation. However, he clarified that, in terms of the U.S. military's aid to Mexico, “It’s a supporting role that we play, in support of things that the Mexicans ask us to help with, things that the embassy asks”
For Jacoby, the security situation in Mexico poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat to our national security, our economy and our diplomacy."
His comments came just a week after he led a group of U.S. military personnel meeting with their counterparts in Mexico.
The issue of U.S.-Mexican military collaboration has been controversial, with criticism from within Mexico of revelations that unmanned U.S. drones were carrying reconnaissance missions in Mexican airspace.
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