Mexico, Spain cooperate to combat international crime

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Mexico and Spain are pooling resources to combat organized international crime, drug trafficking and terrorism, one combined effect of which is loss of tax revenue and burgeoning underground economies.

Mexico's Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez and Spanish Justice Minister Francisco Caamano Dominquez met to seal their agreement on information-sharing and hoped the talks would make the two countries' anti-crime and security operations more coordinated.

The Mexican attorney general's office said the talks demonstrated a "high level of inter-institutional cooperation" between the two sides.

The meeting was part of the regular consultations of the Mexico-Spain bilateral commission but followed similar agreements that were pursued by European states with Mexico and other Central American and Latin American countries.

In September, Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

Added to European Union worries over narcotics entering the the European community are concerns over increased contacts between the Middle East and South America. Analysts said the intensified exchanges and travel raised worries, both in the EU and in Latin American governments, that terrorist networks could exploit diplomatic activity and newly opened channels of commerce.

At the start of the meeting Caamano told news media that Spain was grateful for Mexico's cooperation in combating drug trafficking and potential expansion of drug networks to Europe. "This is a task that supports Spain, but also confronts against those who do not respect freedom and basic human rights," he said.

Spain's principal concern, however, is the rise in cocaine consumption that authorities blame on ineffective measures to check smuggling from Mexico and other Latin American countries, analysts said.

Mexico's cities and towns on its southern border have been militarized as part of a government effort to use the military in the fight against drugs. Drug-related violence is widespread in Mexican cities believed to be on the illegal drug transit routes from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru to Europe and the United States.

Spain, like other EU countries, has also been pushing for closure of tax havens in Latin America suspected of involvement in money laundering or financing of terrorism-related activities.