Early Concerns about Aid to Mexico
The Advocate
October 2007

In 2006 alone there were an estimated 2,100 drug trafficking related homicides in Mexico, including the murders of numerous police officers, soldiers, police chiefs, and senior level anti-drug officials. In response to this public security crisis, Mexican President Felipe Calderón initiated a crackdown on Mexico’s powerful drug cartels, favoring a mano dura (strong arm) approach as his strategy of choice. As part of these efforts, President Calderón deployed approximately 27,000 troops to engage in joint efforts with police in regions hard hit by drug-related violence, such as Michoacán, Guerrero, Sinaloa and Durango, as well as the northern border cities of Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo. Calderón’s administration has also extradited alleged drug kingpins to the United States for prosecution. Yet the violence continues.

In recent months, officials from both Mexico and the United States have framed the scourge of drug-trafficking and associated violence as a shared concern and have publicly stated the need to engage in joint efforts to tackle this problem. A recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that 90 percent of all cocaine entering the United States comes through Mexico and that Mexican cartels control much of the distribution of these drugs north of the border. Yet, U.S. demand for drugs is a driving force for the trade, and the bulk of firearms that end up in the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico are smuggled in from the United States where gun control laws are far less restrictive.

It is within this political environment that indications of a sizeable U.S. counternarcotics aid package to Mexico have emerged. The package has been dubbed by several media outlets as “Plan Mexico,” a reference to the Colombian counternarcotics program “Plan Colombia.” At the time this article was written, few concrete details regarding the contents of this aid package have been released. Speculations by largely unidentified sources in the media predict that this aid will include funds for wiretapping and communications technologies, assistance to help Mexico monitor its airspace, police training programs and military hardware. The timing for this aid package is also unclear, although officials have hinted that it may be included as part of a supplemental spending bill in the latter months of 2007.

Human rights advocates are eager to examine the details of this package, as many recognize that this initiative could go in two very different directions. The aid could be well-directed towards judicial strengthening, sensible efforts to curb money laundering, limiting the precursor chemicals used in drug processing, and strengthening drug treatment and prevention programs - or it could be modeled after the flawed Plan Colombia, moving the military into policing roles and compromising human rights.

The highly problematic nature of deploying soldiers to combat domestic drug cartels was highlighted by a September 2007 report issued by Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission. This report cited cases of numerous human rights abuses perpetrated by the military in the course of counter drug operations, including rape, torture, murder and robbery. These cases include a recent incident in Sinaloa in which soldiers opened fire on a pick-up truck after they failed to stop at a checkpoint, killing three women and two children. Cases like this further illustrate that soldiers are not trained for domestic law enforcement and should not replace civilian police.

This inappropriate utilization of the military for police duties only further underscores the need for comprehensive police reform. Efforts to strengthen judicial systems and oversight mechanisms are needed combat the longstanding problems of impunity and corruption. The vital nature of these reform efforts in the context of any aid package was noted by a senior congressional staffer in an August 8th Washington Post article, “How would Congress know the support is not going to the very people who are engaged in this type of criminal activity?"

Aspects of this aid package may prove controversial for administrations on both sides of the border. The Mexican government has historically voiced strong concerns regarding sovereignty and opposition to U.S. military presence on their soil. On the U.S. side, some have expressed frustration about the veil of secrecy surrounding the aid. As a senior congressional staffer notes in the aforementioned August 8th Washington Post article: “There is bipartisan concern about the Bush Administration’s lack of meaningful consultation with Congress. They see Congress as their personal ATM machine, not as an equal branch of government.”

Advocates in the United States and Mexico will remain watchful in the coming weeks to evaluate the human rights implications of any proposed counternarcotics aid package to Mexico. As details come to light, it is important to remember aid could have the capacity to effect positive change. Funding and proper implementation of programs that strengthen rule of law, protect human rights, curb drug consumption, and promote police reform could ultimately reduce drug-related violence, benefiting communities in the border region and throughout the United States and Mexico.

http://www.lawg.org/countries/mexico/plan_mexico_07.htm  [ send green star]

The Merida Initiative:
Plan Mexico Unveiled

Following months of speculation on both sides of the border, President Bush recently announced that he would be sending a sizeable counternarcotics and organized crime package for Mexico and Central America to the U.S. Congress. Popularly dubbed "Plan Mexico", LAWG and other human rights organizations have concerns about the implications of such a package.

Read more about the Merida Initiative

 

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Best,

Ellen and Jenny
Latin America Working Group

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July 30, 2008

The brutal violence associated with drug trafficking paired with authorities' apparent lack of capacity and political will to effectively confront organized crime has taken a profound toll on public security in Mexico in recent years. More than 5,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Calderón took office in December 2006. Despite these challenging times, it is critical that drug violence not serve as an excuse for increased abuses by Mexico's military and police. Read more at: http://lawg.org/countries/mexico/dangerous_directions.htm.

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