Obama: Mexico will be stronger if it stands up to drug gangs

Sep 13, 2011, 1:45 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama insisted Monday that 'Mexico will be stronger' if it does not give in to powerful transnational drug gangs.

'I think (Mexican President Felipe Calderon) is doing the right thing,' Obama told a small group of news agencies including the German Press Agency dpa.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in incidents linked to organized crime in Mexico since Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched a determined fight against the gangs.

'I think Calderon understands and is absolutely right when he says it's a corrosive and corrupting influence on any economy, any society, when criminals are able to control big segments of the economy,' Obama told the small group of Spanish-language reporters gathered at the White House.

'I don't think Mexican people want to live in a society where drug kingpins are considered to be some of the more powerful individuals in society.'

For this reason, despite the apparent cost in human lives and other consequences of violence, Obama supports the policy of the Mexican government.

'I think (Calderon) has made the decision, and it's a decision I agree with and respect, that your purchasing peace by accommodating people who are without morality and without regard for human life that's not good for a society, so I respect his courage and I believe that, as difficult as this time is, ultimately Mexico will be stronger if it does not give in.'

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