Mexico and Drugs

In reading Jorge Castaneda’s column “Mexico, Insulted, Rethinks Its Role in U.S. Drug War” (Op-Ed Page, May 1), your readers might think that everyone in Mexico agrees with Castaneda.

Castaneda’s obvious position is understandable since he is part of the Mexican political system.

First, I feel that there is a strong effort being made to control drug traffic in Mexico by honest Mexican officials (we still have a few of them left), and yes, most of our problem is a result of the demand for drugs in the U.S. However, this does not justify the growing corruption in our country, and in the U.S. for that matter.

Our country is really getting out of control--many government officials are in the protection drug business and the number is growing. We in Mexico can observe this everyday in persons who overnight become rich.

I firmly believe that Castaneda is aware of all this; however, he cannot or does not want to take a position that would hurt his career.

We must be honest, we must accept the reality of our country’s corruption. First we have to clean our house before we blame our neighbor.

It is true that U.S. congressman overreact when it comes to our country. It seems that they are also misinformed of our country, even those of Mexican origin.

There are many areas of cooperation between our countries, but we need to avoid going to extremes.

FRANCISCO R. MARTINEZ

Mexicali, Mexico