(Corrects after State Department reissues briefing to make clear Rice's first solo trip to Mexico as secretary of state was in 2005) WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travels to Mexico this week for talks on U.S. help in Mexico's battle against drug gangs as well as other issues, the State Department said on Tuesday. Rice plans to meet Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa and other officials on Wednesday and Thursday in the Pacific tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that this would be Rice's first solo trip to the country as secretary of state. But the department later issued a statement saying Rice first visited Mexico as secretary of state on an individual trip on March 10, 2005. She has also traveled there with President George W. Bush and met Espinosa elsewhere. With the Bush administration leaving office in January, this week's journey is likely to be her last such trip. "I'd expect that she will have some extensive conversations about the program (of) cooperation that's represented by the Merida Initiative," McCormack said, referring to a U.S. program of more than $400 million in U.S. aid to help Mexico and Central America battle drug cartels. Congress approved the aid for Mexico's drug war during the summer, but a bilateral letter of agreement must be signed before the funds can be released, U.S. officials said. They said the signing should happen soon but they did not expect it to take place during Rice's trip. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made crushing drug gangs a top priority, sending troops across the country in an attempt to restore law and order, but drug violence has only increased. More than 3,000 people have been killed this year as Mexico's drug gangs fight for control of smuggling routes into California, Arizona and Texas. The killings and kidnappings have spilled over into the United States, where the demand for illicit drugs drives the trade. Mexican border cities such as Tijuana, famous for serving Americans tequila, cheap medicine and sex, are being devastated by the drug war. Police in Las Vegas, Nevada linked the kidnapping of a young boy there last weekend to the Mexican drugs trade. McCormack said Rice would also talk about regional matters with Mexican officials, as well as the global financial situation and bilateral issues. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by David Wiessler)
Relatives of inmates react after being informed that they passed away, outside a prison in the border city of Reynosa, northern Mexico October 20, 2008. At least 21 prisoners died in ...
