Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged increased support for Mexico in the fight against drug gangs. In Mexico as part of a high-level US delegation, she said more would be done to cut US demand for drugs and the flow of profits and guns into Mexico. The gangs "are fighting against both of our governments", she said, adding that a broader effort would aim to tackle social problems fuelling the trade. Ten days ago, three people connected to the US consulate were killed in Mexico. Discussions during the one-day visit are focusing on the Merida initiative, a $1.6bn US programme of aid aimed at fighting drug cartels. Mrs Clinton said: "This new agenda expands our focus beyond disrupting drug trafficking organisations" to include "strengthening institutions, creating a 21st Century border, and building strong, resilient communities". She added: "The recent downturn in economic growth and remittances has aided the drug traffickers in their recruitment of young people." 'Real deal' Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano are part of the US delegation. ANALYSIS Julian Miglierini
BBC News, Mexico City
Mrs Clinton said what many in Mexico wanted to hear: that the US is partly responsible for the drug conflict in Mexico and that it supports the Mexican government's embattled military strategy against the drug cartels. At the news conference, the American secretary of state and her Mexican counterpart Patricia Espinosa mentioned other joint initiatives, such as a study on drugs consumption and how to help local communities shattered by the violence. These measures could indicate the start of a new era of bilateral co-operation on the drugs issue. An era that would go beyond the security aspects and also include addressing the root causes and the consequences of the drug conflict. It is that impact on society - plus more than 18,000 people killed since the deployment of troops - that has made of the drug conflict Mexico's most urgent problem. "You rarely see this kind of meeting with this kind of array of cabinet officials on both sides, so I think it indicates this is the real deal," Ms Napolitano said. Mrs Clinton is due to meet Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the end of her visit. The trip comes a year after President Barack Obama promised to be a "full partner" with Mexico in fighting drugs. A poll in Mexican newspaper Milenio on Tuesday found 59% of respondents thought the cartels were winning the drugs war, compared with just 21% who believed the government was. On the eve of the talks, Mr Obama spoke to Mr Calderon to discuss their "mutual desire to work together for the benefit of the safety and security of citizens on both sides of our shared border", a US statement said. Lesley Enriquez - a US citizen working at the Juarez consulate - her American husband, Arthur Redelfs, and Jorge Alberto Salcido, the Mexican husband of another consular employee, were shot dead in two separate incidents on 13 March in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. The motives for the killings remain unclear. Last week, US police across the border in El Paso, Texas, rounded up members of the Barrio Azteca gang suspected of carrying out the killings. Drug-related violence has left some 18,000 people dead in Mexico since 2006. Most of the funds in the Merida Initiative, which is due to expire in 2011, are allocated to Mexico, with the rest going to other countries in Central America.
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On Tuesday the United States and Mexico announced a new strategy to combat increasingly violent drug movements across the border between the two countries.

According to American officials, the new plan would place more emphasis on local law enforcement, as well as providing aid to cities affected by the drug trade.  It would be based off an earlier plan, called the Mérida Initiative, that was introduced by the Bush administration three years ago.  According to Hillary Clinton, the new strategy would not supersede the older initiative, but would rather supplement and expand upon it.  Other American officials said the new plan would lead to additional efforts to introduce systems that would enable those transporting drugs to be apprehended before they reached the border, rather than just constructing a better defense at the border.  

The new plan would also eliminate funding for military defense systems in favor of training for civilian police officers. Under the original Mérida Initiative, much of the $1.3 billion spent was on military equipment such as aircraft for Mexican forces.  The new plan's budget includes no money for such purchases.

The announcement came during a visit to Mexico City by several senior officials from the Obama administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who, together with her Mexican counterpart, introduced the new plan.  Other American officials included military officers as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.