President Barack Obama will push the US Senate to ratify an arms-trafficking pact to reduce the flow of arms and ammunition to drug cartels in Latin America, a senior US official said today.
Mr Obama, who arrived in Mexico to meet with President Felipe Calderon, will make the announcement later in the day, the official said.
The president's visit to Mexico before the Summit of the Americas tomorrow is meant to show his strong support for Mr Calderon and his administration's efforts to reduce violence and fight a massive drug war.
US weapons smuggling into Mexico is helping to fuel the violence there.
Activists want Washington to push for ratification of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials.
The convention, known by the Spanish acronym CIFTA, has been languishing in the Senate since it was adopted in 1997.
Reuters