Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is traveling today to the central Mexican city of Guanajuato for one day of bilateral talks with her counterpart, Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa. According to a Department of State press release, the main discussion points will cover joint efforts in the areas of organized crime, economic collaboration, border security, and climate change reform post-COP 16 in Cancún. Following her discussions with Minister Espinosa, Secretary Clinton will meet President Felipe Calderón in Mexico City.

The timing of Secretary Clinton’s visit is critical as Mexico continues to suffer from drug cartel-related violence throughout the country. More than 34,000 people have died in the last four years due to organized crime. President Calderón has mounted an aggressive government effort to stave off narco-violence, despite nearly 16,000 of the 34,000 deaths having occurred in 2010 alone.

In light of this, the Colombian army has begun training Mexican police officers to contain drug gangs. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos notes that: “Mexico has what we had some years ago, which are very powerful cartels. What we can provide is the experience that we have had dismantling those cartels, training intelligence officers, [and] training judicial police.”