Do you think Mexico can win the war against drug cartels with U.S. help?

Adam J. Segal

(originally posted to the blog)

This week we’re asking you to weigh in on whether the Mexico can win the war against drug cartels with help from the United States.

The U.S. Congress may soon be asked to vote on a massive billion-dollar anti-drug aid package. Do you think this enormous budget is enough to win the war on drugs in Mexico? Should the U.S. be investing in the battle within Mexico?

Last week the Dallas Morning News reported on some of the initial details (excerpts):

Tucked in the Pentagon’s massive budget request is at least $1.4 billion in U.S. aid to Mexico for its fight against increasingly violent drug kingpins – including better training and high-tech tools.

Negotiators for the two countries have agreed on the package now awaiting U.S. congressional approval, officials familiar with the proposal said Monday.

Both U.S. and Mexican officials have said the package is needed to fight a common threat – one that has leeched over the border and into North Texas.

According to a report from the Financial Times today (excerpts):

The US intends to supply Mexico with a $1bn aid package to help combat an increasingly costly and violent war against drugs, according to a top Mexican diplomat.

The agreement, which some experts have dubbed ”Plan Mexico” after the controversial multi-billion-dollar anti-narcotics package that the US established with Colombia in 2000, would be spread over two years and include the supply of intelligence, training and equipment such as helicopters and boats.

However, Carlos Rico, Mexico’s undersecretary for North American affairs, said the plan would not resemble the aid package with Colombia. In particular, he said, no US troops would be allowed to operate on Mexican soil, thus sidestepping the particularly sensitive issue of Mexican sovereignty.

The programme, which is to be called the Joint Strategy to Fight Organised Crime and which requires approval by the US Congress before it can be rolled out next year, will probably be seen as a significant victory for Felipe Calderón, Mexico’s centre-right president.

Just last week the U.S. and Mexico announced a milestone in the joint fight against drugs and are claiming key victories. Has the price of cocaine risen because of the crackdown? Are successes rising simply because drug shipments are increasing?

Interestingly, Reuters has an article about the obstables the U.S. government faces in fighting against drug producers in other countries and how their best allies may not be the policy but rather the militaries (two excerpts).

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has won praise from Washington for deploying about 25,000 troops to fight drug-smuggling cartels since he took office last December.

Some Latin American countries, where memories of U.S.-backed dictatorships are still fresh, are reluctant to involve their armed forces in such a role. The Brazilian military has resisted joining the fight against drugs gangs in Rio de Janeiro, saying soldiers are not trained for such missions and it would be unconstitutional.

But at least one major human rights advocate in Mexico wants the country’s military to be taken off the anti-drug assignment. Has the Mexican army committed human rights violations during the war on drugs?

Does Mexico has a recent record of cross-border cooperation on this issue? The San Antonio Express-News editorial board raises doubts about the potential for success based upon systemic problems in Mexico (excerpt):

Mexico, meanwhile, faces its own problem in the war against drugs — corruption. It is hard to fight the bad guys when the bad guys wear badges. The federal government has launched an initiative to weed out dirty cops, but the problem is so systemic that it may take years before a resolution is reached.

With such an enormous challenge, Mexico cannot succeed without help from its neighbor across the river. Cooperation is vital. If problems do not stop at the checkpoints, neither should the solutions to those problems.

Last month, MATT columnist E.J. Rangel wrote about the urgency of a binational approach to the anti-drug efforts. And last March, just two months after the new Mexican president took office, wrote about a drug crackdown that he argued was right on target.

What do you think about the apparent U.S. plan to fund a $1 billion Mexico anti-cartel effort? Join MATT.org and comment here!

UPDATE 10/10: Reuters reports today that U.S. agents have infiltrated Mexican drug cartels.

Comments

jrod1966 11 October, 2007 04:10:52
I just can't see how Mexico will win the drug war, with U.S. financial support, when it is clear that a total clean up in Mexico political leadership, from the top, need to be taken care of since the MX cartel has incredible influence and economic support to them. As for the U.S., we have seen that the war in Colombia, although it has a slight success, has not really taken care of and drugs from colombia is still rampant in the U.S. If we really need to get rid of the drug problem in Mexico and the U.S. first it need to be included with other Latin American/Carribean nations, and second the U.S./Mexico need to be serious that they want to win the war on drugs-which I have some doubts on this.

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