US releases first part of drug aid for Mexico

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-04 09:38

MEXICO CITY -- The US government finally released the first part of a $400 million aid package Wednesday to support Mexico's police and soldiers in their fight against drug cartels.

Mexican Army soldiers hold two suspects, arrested during an operation against drug smuggling and kidnapping gangs, after being presented to the press in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. The Mexican Army ran an operation on a safe house on Tuesday after an anonymous call where they arrested four suspects and rescued two men. [Agencies]

The money comes at a critical time: Mexico's death toll from drug violence has soared above 4,000 so far this year, and drug-related murders and kidnappings are spilling over the US border as well.

US Ambassador Tony Garza formally released $197 million at a signing ceremony in Mexico City, calling it "the most significant effort ever undertaken" by the US and Mexico to fight drugs. The rest will be disbursed throughout the year.

"The Merida Initiative is not just about money. It is about a closer and more collaborative effort by the United States and Mexico to work more effectively together to share information in a more timely fashion," Garza said.

But many questions remain about the direction of this drug war. Colombia, where 90 percent of US-bound cocaine is produced, worries it would be handcuffed by concerns about human rights once Barack Obama is president.

"If the United States strips us of those resources, what will be done? Where will they come from?" Andres Pastrana asked in an Associated Press interview. The former Colombian president worked with US President Bill Clinton to launch Plan Colombia, which has spent more than $6 billion in US aid since 2000 to fight drug trafficking and leftist rebels.

Similar worries arose in Mexico when Democrats in Congress hesitated to approve the Merida Initiative and tried to impose human rights restrictions. But with the money finally being released, Mexico is confident that the Obama administration will stay committed to the program and that any human rights concerns can be resolved, said Carlos Rico, Mexico's under-secretary for North American affairs.

The Mexico plan, which includes no cash, includes helicopters and surveillance aircraft, airport inspection equipment and case-tracking software to help police share real-time intelligence. It also supports Mexican efforts to weed out corrupt police, improve the judicial system and protect witnesses.

Most of it, however, will go to notoriously corrupt police forces and the same military whose soldiers have tortured, raped and killed innocent civilians while battling the cartels, according to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission. President Felipe Calderon himself said more than half of state and local police can't be trusted, and federal ranks are rife with corrupt officers.

The US government has stood by Calderon. But Anthony Placido, the US Drug Enforcement Administration's intelligence chief, acknowledged the dangers.

"Law enforcement work anywhere in the world, and certainly in Mexico, can be perilous," Placido said in October when asked whether Mexican corruption has imperiled US agents. "Is it dangerous? Absolutely."

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