Relatives of Mexicans killed in their country’s drug war have had an extraordinary public confrontation with Mexican President Felipe Calderón. On Thursday, a group of family members who have lost loved ones to the drug fight met with Calderón in Mexico City. The group included poet and activist Javier Sicilia, who has recently become the spokesperson for a growing anti-violence movement in Mexico after his son’s torture and murder. At a joint news conference with Calderón and other family members, Sicilia called on Calderón to apologize for the tens of thousands who have died in Mexico’s drug war.

Javier Sicilia: “The Mexican state is failing in its obligation to protect its people and defend their rights. That is why, Mr. President, in your state role, you are responsible, together with the state governments, for the deaths of 40,000 people, thousands of missing and orphaned. We have come here, firstly, so that the Mexican state recognizes its debt with the victims, their families and society. As a representative of the state, Mr. President, you are obliged to apologize to the nation, in particular to the victims.”

In response, Calderón defended his militarization of the drug fight, saying intensified operations could have saved the life of Sicilia’s son.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón: “Javier, you are mistaken. Yes, we should apologize for people who have died at the hands of criminals, for not having acted against those criminals. If I regret something, it’s not having sent federal security forces to fight against criminals, who nobody used to confront because they were scared of them, because they had been bought! I also regret not sending them before and not having had a fair operation in Cuernavaca to catch them before they killed Francisco!”