Death of Police Chief Puts Spotlight on Plan Mérida
This morning’s killing of Mexico’s Acting Chief of Federal Police, Edgar Millán Gómez, has put the emphasis back on the Bush Administration’s Plan Mérida. Millán Gómez was the highest-ranking official to be killed since President Felipe Calderón began the crackdown on Mexican drug cartels in 2007.
His death highlights the gravity of the war on drugs in Mexico. Shortly after his election, Calderón deployed 30,000 federal police to combat drug cartels. Despite this, over 2,000 Mexicans have been killed in drug-related violence. President Calderón was attending the funeral of another high-ranking police official when he learned of the death of Millán Gómez.
To aid our Southern neighbor, the Bush administration proposed Plan Mérida, a 3-year, $1.5 billion program to train, equip, and fund antinarcotics and anticorruption police and legal forces. Despite the plan’s importance and dollar amount, the Bush administration has been rather tight lipped about the details of the plan. When it was revealed last fall, Congress was shocked that few members had been consulted in negotiations and were expected to fund $500 million in the first year.
With the concurrent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is unlikely that Congress will fully approve the Administration’s request. The ranking Republican on the House Armed Services committee, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California) is a case in point. This morning, Hunter wrote President Bush to argue the plan paled in importance to the global war on terrorism. Similarly, Democrats argue that providing $500 million to the Mexican government is unrealistic.
Whether or not the full amount will be delivered by Congress, it is important that President Bush work with, not against, Congress to bolster anti-drug forces in Mexico. A comprehensive strategy is needed to address the drugs problem that not only affects Mexico and undermines the rule of law, but also funds gangs in the United States and destroys areas affected by illicit drug use.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
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May 16th, 2008 at 11:03 am
The war in the middle east maybe a priority for US policy-makers, but this a short sighted interpretation regarding the various threats to the wellbeing of Mexico and the United States. For the US implementing programs to minimize the use of illicit drugs would be cheaper and more effective than the current cost of “War on Drugs” policies. The war in the middle east is a different issue, but ending the war would for example help reduce current gas prices and encourage Americans to be more consumer oriented. For Mexico, reducing the level of corruption is always a significant but impossible to obtain objective. Although Calderon’s efforts to fix the problems with collecting income tax is a related and important goal. Increased government revenue to pay better wages to military personnel may help limit the ability of the drug cartels to recruit former soldiers.
Jaime
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
[…] These events have contributed to the recent advance of the Merida Initiative in the US Congress—both the Senate and the House have approved bills that include aid to Mexico, although they still have to agree on a single bill. But is Mexico receiving aid because its forces are doing really well and need further support to win the battle with the cartels or is the country doing so badly that it needs urgent assistance before it loses the War on Drugs? Carrying out the world’s largest cash seizure has definitively contributed to victory over drugs, but losing the chief of federal police has not, specially since this highlights the government’s inability to protect its main strategists and operatives against drug cartels. […]