ulian Miglierini
BBC News, Mexico City
Mrs Clinton said what many in Mexico wanted to hear: that the US is partly responsible for the drug conflict in Mexico and that it supports the Mexican government's embattled military strategy against the drug cartels.
At the news conference, the US secretary of state and her Mexican counterpart Patricia Espinosa mentioned other joint initiatives, such as a study on drugs consumption and how to help local communities shattered by the violence.
These measures could indicate the start of a new era of bilateral co-operation on the drugs issue. An era that would go beyond the security aspects and also include addressing the root causes and the consequences of the drug conflict.
It is that impact on society - plus more than 18,000 people killed since the deployment of troops - that has made of the drug conflict Mexico's most urgent problem.