Mexico and the United States on Saturday continued to reconcile concerns about criminal violence along Mexico's northern border, as the U.S. ambassador to the Mexico and Mexico's foreign secretary and met over breakfast. The U.S. State Department has issued a travel alert to warn Americans that violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, has increased along the Mexican side of the border _ a measure Mexican officials described as exaggerated. President Vicente Fox intervened in the diplomatic flap on Friday, saying violence near the border does not threaten the two nations' strong relationship. The conciliation continued on Saturday, as Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez reviewed actions taken by the Mexican government to combat organized crime in northern Mexico, where a surge in killings and kidnappings has been linked to battles between drug gangs. Ambassador Tony Garza noted that the State Department announcement did not recommend that Americans avoid traveling to Mexico, but only that they take precautions in specific areas, according to a joint written statement from the U.S. Embassy and Mexican Foreign Relations Department. --More 2218 Local Time 1918 GMT
