US-Mexican Tensions Escalate

With the US recession hammering Mexico, the Mexican drug war frightening the US, and a free-trade tiff in the works, relations between the countries have gotten a tad frosty of late, the New York Times reports. In an effort to head off a full-blown crisis, Hillary Clinton is heading to Mexico today, and President Obama will visit next month.

Foreign issues quickly become entangled with domestic ones such as immigration, free trade, and gun control. For example, most of the assault rifles being fired in Mexico’s drug wars come from the US, and the vast majority of the drugs being fought over will be sold north of the border. “This is a big relationship,” said an assistant secretary of state. “It should not be narrowed down to a couple of issues.” (More Mexico stories.)