Mexican officials have told Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay they will look into a string of violent crimes that have killed or injured several Canadian tourists.
"I have been given assurances that the investigations will be monitored and followed by the government," MacKay said Thursday in Mexico City.
Last Saturday, Rita Callara, 55, and a Canadian man, both from the Niagara Falls region, were each shot in the leg Saturday after a gunman fired a semi-automatic weapon at the Casa Inn hotel in Acapulco.
And last month, 67-year-old Clifford Glasier was killed in a hit-and-run incident near Lake Chapala. His wife, who was walking beside him at the time, was seriously injured and later unable to attend his funeral.
Another unsolved case is the killing of 19-year-old Adam DePrisco. The teenager left a popular Acapulco club in January, when local officials say he was struck by a car.
But the victim's family believes DePrisco was savagely beaten by employees at the club, and hit by a car as he attempted to escape his attackers. A local official has agreed with that claim, but has only spoken to the media on condition of anonymity.
Under criticism that local police officials have failed to properly investigate the case, the governor of Guerrero state, where DePrisco was killed, has apparently invited the RCMP to assist in the case.
State officials have "offered the Canadian government the opportunity for its Mounted Police to collaborate," Gov. Zeferino Torreblanca told a news conference on Wednesday.
But an RCMP spokesperson said Thursday that the request has not reached them.
"To date, the RCMP has not received any official request from the Mexican government," Sylvie Tremblay told Â鶹´«Ã½ in an email message.
"If an official request is received, the RCMP will make a determination of a possible course of action," Tremblay added.
Meanwhile, MacKay said Canadian officials will help in the investigation of they receive a formal request.
"We intend in every instance to support Mexico in their efforts to bring the individuals responsible to justice," he said.
He also mentioned the Woodbridge, Ont. couple killed in February 2006.
Dominic and Nancy Ianiero were found with their throats slashed at a resort near Cancun, on the Caribbean side. But the case has never been solved, and Mexican authorities have been accused of bungling their investigation.
MacKay met with President Felipe Calderon and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa about the cases, and spoke to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City.
He also said Canada is willing to help Mexico in its fight with organized crime and the drug trade, by offering law enforcement training and forensic detection technology.
MacKay said Canada has a large interest in Mexico's security because of business ties between the two countries, and the more than one million Canadian tourists who visit the country each year.
"The government of Canada supports President Calderon's determination to counter criminal violence of the drug trade in this country and at its borders," said MacKay.
Calderon became president on Dec. 1, 2006, and has since deployed more than 24,000 police and military personnel to fight Mexico's drug cartels. Almost a third were sent to Acapulco.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
