The president said talks will continue with Mexico and would not set any timetable for the discussions, which have been under way for almost a year.

Bush's remarks came during a wrap-up news conference where he was joined by Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The annual summit ended ahead of schedule to permit Calderón to return home to assess the damage wreaked by Hurricane Dean.

The leaders met with business executives from across the continent who called for more uniformity in regulations and rules to make North America more competitive with trading blocs in Europe and Asia. Those pleas – and even the meeting itself, because it was shielded from public view – have drawn loud critics.

The most contentious issues in this regional summit have been those matters that have been irritants in U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada relations. Bush and Harper were very open about Washington's refusal to recognize Canada's claim of sovereignty over the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Sea.

Bush and Calderón offered lengthy comments on the drug package. At times, they seemed more interested in explaining what will not be in the package than in what will be included. Bush stressed that this will not be an American plan imposed on Mexico. And, he said emphatically, this will not be another “Plan Colombia,” the controversial, multibillion-dollar drug eradication program that put such heavy emphasis on that nation's military.

“The fundamental question is, what can we do together to make sure that the common strategy works?” Bush said. “And that's where we are in the discussions right now. There's all kinds of speculation about the size of the package, this, that and the other.

“All I can tell you is the package, when it's developed, will be robust enough to achieve a common objective, which is less violence on both sides of the border and to deal with narcotrafficking. And we both have responsibilities, and that's what the package is entailed to develop. It's to develop how do we share our joint responsibilities.”

The president was eager to discount the comparison to Colombia. “This is different from Plan Colombia,” he said. “This is a plan that, you know, says we've got an issue on our own border.”

He said that means there will be no U.S. “armed presence” in Mexico. He added, “Mexico's plenty capable of handling the problem, and the question is, is there any way for us to help strengthen the effort?”

Bush also lavished praise on Calderón for the steps he has taken to fight drug trafficking since taking office in December.

“I would not be committed to dealing with this if I wasn't convinced that President Calderón had the will and the desire to protect his people from narcotraffickers,” Bush said. “He has shown great leadership and great strength of character, which gives me good confidence that the plan we'll develop will be effective.”