Press Releases 08
Merida Initiative Cooperation Gathers Momentum
Statement by Ambassador Antonio O. Garza
Mexico City, December 17, 2008 - “Today we marked another step in cooperation under the Merida Initiative. Together with Immigration Service Commissioner Patricia Romero, we inaugurated a Forensic Document Laboratory that will allow officials at the National Institute of Immigration to quickly and reliably determine when immigrants or travelers in Mexico are using falsified or forged documents. This is the first of 60 such facilities that will be installed at key airports.
“This Friday, December 19, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Patricia Espinosa and myself, along with members of President Bush’s cabinet and several Mexican ministers, will discuss future security cooperation and Merida Initiative implementation.
“These high-level discussions once again mark the importance that Mexico holds as a partner and a friend to the United States. I am certain that they will not only help set the pace for another year of strong cooperation, but will also lay the foundation for a seamless transition to the administration of President-elect Obama.”
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