In remarks on Monday, Peña Nieto pledged to continue with a crackdown against drug cartels in a drug war that has seen tens of thousands of deaths. Peña Nieto has tapped General Oscar Naranjo, the former head of Colombia’s national police, to be his security adviser, signaling he will likely continue the U.S.-backed drug war in the same vein as his predecessor, President Felipe Calderón. Naranjo helped orchestrate a U.S.-backed crackdown against cocaine trafficking in Colombia that led to the demise of drug lord Pablo Escobar. More than 47,000 people have died since Calderón took power in 2006 and announced a crackdown on drug cartels. Speaking in Washington, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland congratulated Peña Nieto for his apparent victory and said the U.S. expects continued drug war cooperation from the Mexican government.

Victoria Nuland: “We’re not going to get ahead of a formal seating of a new government and predict changes in policy one way or the other, but we are committed to working in partnership with Mexico to meet the evolving challenges posed by transnational criminal organizations, and we expect that that great cooperation is going to continue with a Peña Nieto administration when it is seated.”