Gov't to limit direct sharing with US

MEXICO CITY (AP):

Mexico is ending the widespread access it gave to United States security agencies in the name of fighting drug trafficking and organised crime, but President Barack Obama said yesterday he won't judge the change until he meets this week with the country's new leader.

Under President Enrique Peña Nieto, who took office on December 1, Mexico is ending direct sharing among law enforcement of resources and intelligence as the new government seeks to change its focus from violence to its emerging economy. It's a dramatic shift from the policy under former President Felipe Calderon, who was lauded by the US repeatedly for increasing cooperation between the two countries as he led an aggressive attack on Mexico's drug cartels.

"In my first conversation with the president, he indicated to me that he very much continues to be concerned about how we can work together to deal with transnational drug cartels," said Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in Mexico tomorrow.

"I'm not going to yet judge how this will alter the relationship between the United States and Mexico until I've heard directly from them what exactly they are trying to accomplish," Obama told a news conference in Washington.