Former Mexican president Vicente Fox said the drugs and violence being blamed on Mexico is not the country's fault, but more likely the result of its location - in the middle of drug producers and the country with the largest appetite for illegal drugs.
Fox told University of San Diego college students the current status of relations between the U.S. and Mexico is cold and distant.
"We have this huge problem that nobody else seems to have," Fox said.
"Let me tell you, it’s not our problem,” he said. “We just happen to be in between those nations that produce the drugs in the south, the Venezuelas, Colombias, Bolivias, Equadors and those who consume the drugs, this nation, by far the largest consumer of drugs in the world."
Fox promoted the legalization of drugs in Mexico in order to weaken the smuggling trade. Keeping the drugs illegal in Mexico allows drug cartels to get so rich and puts the country in the middle of the drug war, he explained.
Those beliefs are a huge turn-around from his presidency, when Fox was a staunch U.S. ally in the war against drugs.
Fox said Mexico produces far less marijuana than what's produced in California.
"We're known for our marijuana, but California produces much more marijuana than we produce in all of Mexico," he said.
He said the consumption of illegal drugs in Mexico is about one percent of the consumption in the United States.
Fox was president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006.
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