The Daily Clarity

  One of the industries that does not seem overly affected by the global economic recession is the illegal drug trade. Focusing close to the US border only,the Drug Intelligence Center estimates that Mexican drug cartels earn around $23 Billion per annum from supplying drugs to US consumers. Mexico has had a hard time combating the cartels, 5,000 people in 2008 were murdered in Mexico in drug-related crimes. The US has been unable to deal with the demand side of this illicit economy, consumers still want the drugs the Mexican cartels supply, and so in a seemingly admittance of defeat has been throwing money at the supply side. The Merida Initiative signed into US law in June 2008 received precious little coverage. Over a 3 year period it committed the US Government to spend $1.6 Billion.  For the first year, 2008, the Merida Initiative provides Mexico with $400 million ($100 million less than originally requested) for military and law enforcement training and equipment, as well as technical advice and training to strengthen the national justice systems. About $204 million of that is  earmarked for the military for the purchase of eight used transport helicopters and two small surveillance aircraft. No weapons are included in the plan.The bill requires that $73.5 million of the $400 million for Mexico must be used for judicial reform, institution-building, human rights and rule-of-law issues. The bill specifies that 15% of the funds will be dependent on Mexico making headway in four areas relating to human-rights issues, and on which the U.S. Secretary of State will have to report periodically to Congress.

These commitments were made prior to the meltdown of the US economy and the issue is rarely debated in the mainstream media. Yesterday saw another term payment fall due under the plan. The government issued a $99 million payment yesterday to assist the Mexican authorities in the containment of the illicit drug trade. There are many problems with this initiative, some strategic and other tactical. part of the problem according to critics is the the Mexican military who are receiving the funds may be an integral part of the problem, rather than an element of the solution.  The Merida Initiative is called “Plan Mexico” by many critics, to point out its similarities to Plan Colombia, through which the U.S. has heavily funded the Colombian military, yet cocaine production has steadily increased and registering a 27% increase in 2007. The plan does try to address some of the concerns, it will require Mexican soldiers accused of human rights abuses in their country to face the civil courts rather than court-martials. The bill requires that $73.5 million must be used for judicial reform, institution-building, human rights and rule-of-law issues. Some critics are concerned with the current amount of human rights abuses committed by the armed forces, some 800 in the first five months of 2008. Most claims are filed for misconduct or illegal searches; yet some, though far fewer, are as serious as rape and torture. A growing number of citizens are concerned that the Mexican military is “becoming too powerful in the face of state weakness – a chilling reminder of a more repressive era.” The use of the army in fighting drug cartels has been questioned by rights groups, but political analysts say troops are the only real option in a country where as many as half the police could be in the pay of drug gangs.

It raises the question where so many of the institutions of justice in Mexico are potentially involved in the drug trade, is the US government adding to the problem by throwing money at the issue? If the money is in reality not tied to substantive changes in the administration of the instruments of power that protect the cartels, how effective can the Merida Initiative be? In a world with so many other pressing priorities – Somalia, Sudan, Gaza and the Congo to name just a few – should this vast amount of money still be directed at a futile attempt to protect the American public from buying drugs that that voluntary seek knowing that the supply is illicit and the supply chain stained with blood? Is the US, in effect, better equipping the Mexican armed forces to police against the drug cartels or making them more efficient in the alleged oppression and misuse of the general Mexican populace? As with many government initiatives, the intent of the policy is good, but the implementation prone to mismanagement and abuse.  The US Government needs tight oversight of initiatives such as this less the intent for improvement instead leads to a deterioration of the situation. Whether the Merida Initiative is part of the solution is yet to be seen, but the potential for it to have a negative effect, in an economic environment when the funds could have been put to more pressing humanitarian needs, remains extremely high.