Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State

The Mérida Initiative is the U.S. Government’s security cooperation partnership to combat transnational narcotics trafficking and organized crime in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.  This article will focus on Mexico, the largest recipient of Mérida Initiative assistance.

Some 90% of cocaine, and a high percentage of all imported methamphetamine and marijuana, enter the U.S. through Mexico.  Reducing this illegal flow has long been a key U.S. goal, and it is one component of the Mérida Initiative.  The Initiative is at least as concerned, though, with the rising levels of violence and lawlessness associated with the Mexican drug trade.  To counter these multiple threats, the Initiative seeks to bolster the capacity of Mexico’s police, prosecutors, judiciary, prisons, and various other government entities.

The seriousness of drug­-related violence in Mexico cannot be overstated, but the context in which that violence has flared must be recognized.  The government of President Calderon is engaged in a determined effort to put an end to the impunity of the cartels, and the cartels are responding with a vicious campaign of murder and intimidation.  By some estimates, Mexico last year sustained over 6,200 drug-related murders.  As of June 30, drug-related murders in 2009 had already topped 2,600. Many of these killings were cartel-on-cartel, as rival criminals tried to fill the voids left by the Mexican government’s disruption of existing networks.  However, the cartels have also killed hundreds of brave Mexican police and a number of senior government officials.  Innocent bystanders have also been victims, gunned down for no other reason than having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cartels have meanwhile established distribution networks in many U.S. cities, and they have brought with them the violence that was once limited primarily to internecine cartel rivalries or sporadic confrontations with U.S. Border Patrol and Customs agents.  Cartels have kidnapped and murdered U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and have engaged in weapons smuggling from the United States into Mexico.  The U.S. Department of Justice has recognized the cartels as the greatest organized crime threat to the United States.  Though the level of violence pales in comparison to that in Mexico, the challenge for U.S. law enforcement is substantial.  We cannot afford to ignore it.

A Multi-faceted Response

The U.S. Government has launched a multi-faceted response.  The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice (DOJ) are moving aggressively to disrupt illegal flows of weapons and bulk cash to Mexico and to ensure that our border security remains as resistant as possible to the flow of drugs and violence to the United States.

Closely related to our efforts on the border is the U.S. Government’s commitment to reduce the demand for illegal drugs here at home.  The U.S. Government committed approximately $5 billion in 2008 to reduce illicit drug use within our borders.  This amount included additional funding for drug courts that bring judicial, law enforcement, and treatment communities together with the goal of diminishing the drug addiction of non-violent offenders.

Finally, cooperative U.S.-Mexican efforts have also become imperative, and the Mérida Initiative responds to this need.  The government of Mexico is not backing down from its efforts to rein in the cartels.  It is pushing even more aggressively to strengthen security and the rule of law in Mexico, and our assistance is vital.  The transnational nature of this threat clearly makes addressing the violence in Mexico through cooperation with, and assistance to, Mexican authorities a top priority.

Why We Need the Mérida Initiative

A key element of our success in addressing the challenge of border violence is our ability to combine our domestic enforcement efforts with those of our international partners, effectively creating a defense in depth.  Our experience in law enforcement in the United States has taught us that effective efforts against narcotics trafficking require cooperation at all levels, from the local cop on the beat to specially trained and resourced investigative units.  By working with countries in the region, we can disrupt drug production and supply chains before the narcotics cross our border.  The Mérida Initiative provides sorely needed support to Mexico and other partner nations, at a critical juncture in their fight.

Mexican President Calderon, since his inauguration in December 2006, has taken decisive action against transnational criminal organizations.  Under his leadership, counter-narcotics and law enforcement operations have expanded throughout Mexico, and he has begun the arduous task of large-scale police and rule of law reform.  His efforts to combat corruption, to confront powerful criminal syndicates, to improve coordination among security agencies, to modernize law enforcement agencies, and to professionalize their staff are without precedent.  Violence has climbed markedly as President Calderon confronts the transnational drug trafficking organizations that threaten Mexico and the region.  We in the U.S. must remember that horrific murders in Mexico, are not the result of the Government of Mexico’s inaction, but rather of the determination of President Calderon and his administration to root out corruption and to end the influence and impunity of the cartels.

The Mérida Initiative is having an impact that goes beyond the fight against organized crime.  It is beginning to transform United States-Mexico relations.  President Calderon’s unprecedented request for cooperation and assistance signals a break with the past and the beginning of a broader and deeper partnership – one that extends across communities and government agencies on both sides of the border.  The U.S. Department of State and its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs are working closely with key U.S. agencies such as USAID, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and Treasury, as well as with Mexican counterparts.  State governments in the U.S. have also partnered with Mexican authorities, sharing expertise in areas such as the training of corrections officers.

Launching the Mérida Initiative

The Mérida Initiative will provide our Mexican partners with crucial tools to address common threats.  Similar Mérida Initiative programs will be implemented in other countries in the region. Tools in Mexico will include:

o Inspection equipment that will prevent the smuggling of drugs, arms, bulk cash, persons, and precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production;

o Aircraft that will allow the Mexican armed forces to patrol and identify narcotics shipments and the Mexican police to apprehend narco-traffickers;

o Enhanced data management and forensic equipment that will improve Mexican law enforcement’s ability to target narco-trafficking and cross-border crimes;

o Enhanced information systems in Mexico that will strengthen interconnectivity across law enforcement agencies and improve information sharing with U.S. counterparts;

o Expanded anti-corruption efforts, including training for ethics and anti-corruption under a police professionalization program, support for citizen complaint offices, and training and equipping of inspector general offices to confront corruption throughout the federal bureaucracy; and,

o Judicial reform programs to improve crime prevention and to strengthen institution building and rule of law, including police reforms that will enhance police ability to investigate, to convict, to sentence, and to securely detain those who commit crimes.

To date, concrete implementation has begun. Initial projects include the following:

o A bilateral workshop on arms trafficking held in April, 2009 in Mexico, attended by DHS Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder;

o The opening of three immigration control sites along the Mexico-Guatemala border in May, 2009 to issue biometric credentials to frequent Guatemalan border crossers;

o The implementation, also in May, 2009, of an anti-trafficking-in-persons system for the Mexican Attorney General’s Office; and,

o A train-the-trainer program for Mexican Federal Corrections officers that will graduate 1,000 officers by the end of this year.

The Mexican Customs Service has also activated a pilot project at one crossing point to inspect every vehicle crossing the border.  For the first time, Mexican Customs will require all southbound passengers at the border checkpoint to stop and go through an automated inspection process.  The system weighs each vehicle, scans the license plate, and runs the collected data through various databases and risk analysis tools.  The inspection process, completed within eight seconds, enhances the ability to prevent firearms, ammunition, and bulk cash smuggling.

Finally, to coordinate these efforts, Mexican and U.S. officials have convened interagency, bi-national implementation meetings in Mexico City, and have established nine working groups for the various Mérida Initiative projects.  As planning and implementation progress, we will see the development of day-to-day working relationships that did not exist in the past, and, accordingly, more effective law enforcement operations.

Shared Responsibility

Mexico and the United States have a shared responsibility to ensure the security of the common border. In an interconnected world, problems defy national boundaries.  Nowhere is this more evident than along the U.S.-Mexican frontier.  Fortunately, both our governments have demonstrated a solid commitment to meeting their responsibilities.

The continued support of the U.S. Congress, the American people, and our state and local governments is vital to the success of the ongoing efforts.  The Mérida Initiative alone will not solve all our problems, but it is a vital component of a multi-faceted solution.  By providing the Mexican government with the capacity-building tools it needs, we are helping to fight a threat to our own nation’s domestic security.