SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. And it is such a pleasure
for me to welcome my friend and colleague, Secretary Espinosa, along
with a very distinguished delegation of officials from the Mexican
Government for this continuation of consultation at the highest levels
of each of our governments.
Before I turn to the matters discussed today, let me give a brief
update on the ongoing U.S. response to the protests in the Middle East
and elsewhere. I’m sure as you know already, we are taking aggressive
steps to protect our staffs in embassies and consulates worldwide. That
includes reviewing our security posture at every post and augmenting it
where necessary. And we are working closely with the Libyan Government
in our efforts to bring to justice those who murdered our four American
colleagues in Benghazi.
The FBI is now in Tripoli to join the investigation with Libyan
officials, and there is nothing more important to us than ensuring the
safety of our American representatives worldwide. At the same time, as I
have said to State Department employees, the incidents of the past week
highlight how important our work is. The United States must and will
remain strongly engaged in the world. Our men and women risk their lives
in service to our country and our values, because they know that the
United States must be a force for peace and progress. That is worth
striving and sacrificing for, and nothing that happened last week
changes this fundamental fact.
Now, turning to our friends and partners in Mexico, we are always
pleased to have a chance to discuss matters of mutual interest and
concern between us. Mexico is one of our closest friends as well as
partner on dozens of critical issues. So we talk about every kind of
issue you can imagine, from education and healthcare to poverty
alleviation to the environment. But today, we focused on a top priority
for us both – security.
We just co-chaired the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Merida
High-Level Consultative Group. This is the last one we will hold during
the Calderon Administration. And I want to offer my personal
appreciation to President Calderon and to Foreign Secretary Espinosa for
their leadership and commitment to this partnership and to all on both
sides of the border in our governments who have been deeply engaged and
committed to it. The Merida Initiative represents an unprecedented level
of security cooperation between Mexico and the United States.
As our countries continue to deal with the serious challenge of
transnational criminal organizations, including drug traffickers,
illegal arms traffickers, money launderers, and violent gangs that
threaten people on both sides of the border, we well know there is no
quick and easy way to stop these criminals and bring them to justice.
But nevertheless, during the past now nearly four years, our countries
have collaborated to an extraordinary and unprecedented degree. We have
brought together policy makers and experts from across our governments
and societies who have worked hand in hand to keep our people safe. And I
think the habits of cooperation we have built are among our most
important achievements, and we will rely on them for a long time to
come.
Today, our delegations reviewed the gains we've made on key
priorities, including improving law enforcement coordination, reducing
the demand for drugs, modernizing our border infrastructure,
strengthening the rule of law, and building more resilient and empowered
communities. We also discussed the lessons we’ve learned and the work
that lies ahead in these and other areas, which our joint statement will
reflect. I want to underscore how important our security relationship
with Mexico is to the United States.
The Government of Mexico and the Mexican people have faced the threat
posed by these criminals with courage and resolve, and we remain
committed to doing everything we can to support Mexico as it continues
to work to bring those criminals to justice. This is a transnational
problem, and it calls for a transnational solution, and the United
States believes this is a matter of shared responsibility. That was the
first message I brought as Secretary of State when I came to Mexico, and
it continues to be the hallmark of our efforts together. Making sure
our people are safe and our neighbors are safe is of the utmost
importance to us.
Now, our two countries share many other priorities, and one of them,
empowering women and girls, was also addressed today. We took the
opportunity, the Foreign Secretary and I, to sign a Memorandum of
Understanding between our countries to work together to advance gender
equality, empower girls and women, promote their human rights, and
enhance their security.
So again, Secretary Espinosa, let me thank you for years of work and
effort, for our productive conversations in many places around the world
and again today, and for being such a valuable colleague and partner.
The United States deeply, deeply values our relationship with Mexico and
the ties of family and friendship that connect so many millions of our
people.
And we look forward to the future. We believe strongly that
presidential administrations may change, elections will come and go, but
we have established a firm foundation for cooperation that has already
benefited both our countries and which will continue to benefit both of
our countries for many years ahead. So thank you very much.
FOREIGN SECRETARY ESPINOSA: (In Spanish.)
MS. NULAND: We’ll take (inaudible), Margaret Brennan, CBS News.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, thanks for your time. Are you any
closer to finding who killed Ambassador Chris Stevens? Libya’s President
says this attack was planned for months. Are you confident he’s wrong
and that security measures were appropriate? And will you leave justice
to the Libyans?
SECRETARY CLINTON: As I said at the outset, we are taking
aggressive steps to protect our people and our consulates and embassies
around the world. We are reviewing our security posture at every post
and working with host governments to be sure they know what our security
needs are wherever necessary. We are also working closely with the
Libyan Government to bring the perpetrators to justice so that we can be
assured that we have found who murdered our four colleagues and under
what circumstances. As I said, the FBI has joined the investigation
inside Libya, and we will not rest until the people who orchestrated
this attack are found and punished.
It is also important to look at this strategically and understand
what is going on across the region. In a number of places where protests
have turned violent, we are seeing the hand of extremists who are
trying to exploit people’s inflamed passions for their own agendas. But
overwhelmingly, we have found that the people of Egypt, of Libya, of
Yemen and Tunisia are not prepared to trade the tyranny of a dictator
for the tyranny of a mob. They want to turn their attention to the
future to provide better opportunities for themselves and their
children, and they want a strong partnership with the United States and
the American people based on mutual interests and mutual respect.
This is part of a larger debate that is going on inside these
societies. In Libya, for example, in their first free elections,
moderates were successful at the polls. But look, there are extremists
in all of these societies and on the outside who are working to take
advantage of broad outrage in order to incite violence and specifically
incite violence against Americans and American facilities.
And as I have said to many of the leaders I have spoken to over the
past week, these extremist efforts are a threat to the people of the
societies and the governments of those societies as well as to the
region and the United States. And I think it’s important at this moment
for leaders to put themselves on the right side of this debate – to
speak out clearly and unequivocally against violence, whoever incites it
or conducts it.
And in a struggle like this, there can be no doubt where the United
States must stand. We support those who are fighting for the same values
and rights that we believe in – in democracy, in freedom, in universal
rights for men and women, for justice and accountability. And I want to
underscore that the United States will continue to work with partners
and allies in the region and around the world to help bring security to
these nations so that the promise of the revolutions that they
experienced can be realized.
And finally, on your specific point about Benghazi, we obviously
never talk publicly about security at any of our missions for obvious
reasons. But that said, let me assure you that our security in Benghazi
included a unit of host government security forces, as well as a local
guard force of the kind that we rely on in many places around the world.
In addition to the security outside the compound, we relied on a wall
and a robust security presence inside the compound. And with all of our
missions overseas, in advance of September 11
th, as is done
every year, we did an evaluation on threat streams. And the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence has said we had no actionable
intelligence that an attack on our post in Benghazi was planned or
imminent.
But let me state the obvious again. Our diplomats engage in dangerous
work, and it’s the nature of diplomacy in fragile societies and conflict
zones to be aware of the necessity for security but to also continue
the important diplomatic work that has to go on. There is risk inherent
in what we do and what these brave men and women representing the United
States are up against every single day, and we do our very best to
limit that risk by ensuring that our security protocols reflect the
environments in which diplomats work and the threats that they are
presented with.
Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Last one today, Santiago (inaudible) from (inaudible), please.
QUESTION: Yes. For both of you, thank you for your time. As
both governments are reaching their end, which is a bigger challenge
that incoming government have to deal with regarding bilateral security
issues? And also, if you can give us an update of the Tres Marias
incident, what kind of measure are you taking to prevent these kinds of
incidents and to promote more trust, more confidence, and more law
enforcement in both sides of the border?
FOREIGN SECRETARY ESPINOSA: (Via interpreter) As we said,
we’ve undertaken a review of the cooperation that has taken place under
the framework of the Merida Initiative, and we have reached an agreement
that we need to continue this broad cooperation based on the principles
of shared responsibility, mutual trust, and justice for both countries
and the respect for the sovereignty of both countries. And we’ve also
agreed on the fact that this cooperation scheme that has yielded great
benefits domestically for both countries, which has in turn made us more
effective in the fight against transnational organized crime.
And so we’ve agreed, in this sense, to conduct a review of the
progress that we’ve achieved in all areas and also to develop a roadmap
that will guide our work into the future, which Mexico – this current
Administration and Mexico will present to the incoming administration as
a suggestion/recommendation for their work.
As to the issue of Tres Marias, you are all aware – well aware of the
fact that Mexico, from the very first moment, and its government has
pointed out that we deeply regret this incident. At the same time, we
have reiterated our willingness and our interest to – on behalf of the
Government of Mexico – to conduct an exhaustive investigation, an
investigation that will shed light on the facts and that will allow us
to apply punishment to those responsible and bring them before the law.
We have also expressed our willingness to undertake ongoing
engagement and dialogue with U.S. authorities in this case, and in all
cases under the purview of our law enforcement authorities.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me emphasize how much progress
has occurred in the last three and a half-plus years with the Merida
Initiative and enhanced cooperation regarding security between our two
countries. The United States has invested more than $1 billion in
equipment training and capacity building since the Merida Initiative
began. And the Mexican Government has brought even more of its resources
to bear on combating drug trafficking, criminal cartels, as well as
improving judicial and correction institutions. And we expect that this
high level of cooperation and this belief in shared responsibility will
continue in the next Mexican administration.
And we regret any incident of violence wherever it occurs – inside
Mexico, on our borders, or inside our own country. And we will continue
to work closely to investigate these tragic incidents and try to come to
conclusions about who is responsible and use our legal systems to hold
them accountable.
Thank you all very much.
FOREIGN SECRETARY ESPINOSA: (Via interpreter) Thank you.
