U.S., MEXICO TO INTENSIFY FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENT DRUG GANGS

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said
Thursday that Mexico and the United States had agreed to develop a
"checklist" of tasks for both sides to intensify the fight against
Mexican drug gangs engaged in a bloody turf war.

Speaking near the end of a two-day visit, Clinton said the list would
include timelines committing the United States to speed up delivery of
drug-fighting aid and getting Mexico to move faster on reforming its
judicial and law enforcement institutions.

Clinton also said she was "confident" that a trade tiff with Mexico
over trucking would be resolved quickly and that Mexico's recent
decision to slap tariffs on dozens of U.S. products "will be withdrawn."

Clinton's visit came as the U.S. government expressed alarm over the
surge of drug violence in Mexico, where President Felipe Calderon has
deployed the army in a desperate effort to restore order. More than
7,000 people have been killed since January 2008 in attacks by
traffickers on their competitors and security forces.

Clinton called on Mexicans to support their government's fight against
the gangs and urged students to use the Internet to send tips on
illegal activity to authorities.

"This is the responsibility of citizens as well as leaders," she said
at a speech at the Tecnologico de Monterrey university. "It is a
mutual responsibility, and it's particularly important for the young
people of Mexico, who have enormous power right now, to strengthen
your democracy, to call for more reforms, to shine a bright light on
corruption."

Monterrey, about 130 miles south of the U.S. border, is Mexico's
third-largest urban area. It is home to some of the country's most
prosperous families, known for their multinational businesses and
pricey collections of modern art. But it has seen its former
tranquillity shattered by drug violence.

On the eve of Clinton's trip, authorities announced the arrest of a
man they called a leading cartel figure in the Monterrey area, Hector
Huerta Rios. Days earlier, they picked up a suspect accused of
organizing a gun-and-grenade attack on the U.S. Consulate in the city
last October.

During her trip, Clinton emphasized that the United States shares
responsibility for the drug war because of the millions of Americans
who abuse cocaine, heroin and other drugs that fuel the trade, as well
as the traffickers' easy access to U.S. guns. That stance won her
glowing headlines in Mexico, where many people say the American
government has neglected its responsibility for the problem.

On Thursday morning, Clinton visited a gleaming new police training
facility in eastern Mexico City that is receiving funds through the
$1.4 billion Merida Initiative, a U.S. effort started last year to
help train and equip Mexican security forces.

She watched police with dogs practice sniffing suitcases for drugs and
carrying out a hostage-rescue exercise. She then walked through a
hangar to observe two new Black Hawk helicopters purchased by the
Mexican government for drug-fighting operations. The U.S. government
has pledged to provide more helicopters, but the delivery has been
delayed, to the dismay of Mexican authorities.

Among other priority topics during her visit was the dispute over the
U.S. Congress's recent decision to end a pilot program that allowed
some Mexican trucks to transport goods in the United States.

U.S. labor unions fought the program, arguing that the vehicles were
not safe. Mexico said the move violated the North American Free Trade
Agreement and imposed tariffs on such U.S. products as wine and sunglasses.

Between meetings, Clinton met with indigenous students and visited the
Basilica of Guadalupe, a shrine to Mexico's most beloved religious
icon.

Fernando Alvarez, 48, was part of a crowd of people who gathered
outside a police line to catch a glimpse of Clinton. "Mexicans like
her because of President Clinton," he said. "President Clinton is
worshipped. He is very human. He is not very formal. That's kind of
the Mexican way of living."

In Washington, Dennis C. Blair, the top U.S. intelligence officer,
sought to crush perceptions that the United States was worried about
Mexico's stability.

"Mexico is in no danger of becoming a failed state," he told
journalists. Blair said the spike in violence in Mexico showed that
the Calderon government's anti-drug policies were having an effect.

Blair said recent U.S. aid to Mexico included assistance in
intelligence-gathering to give Calderon an advantage against the
cartels. He offered no details.