Democrats Begin Review Of Mexico Aid Plan
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Democratic lawmaker said Thursday that Congress will “comb over every detail” of an administration request for $1.4 billion in crime fighting aid for Mexico because the plan for spending the money was developed without legislators’ input.
Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee, said Congress was “in no way consulted” as the aid plan was developed. “This is not a good way to kick off such an important bilateral effort to combat drug trafficking and drug-related violence in Mexico,” Engel said.
“We will have to carefully comb over every detail of the president’s request in coming weeks and months.” Additionally, Engel said that if the U.S. is serious about reducing drugs coming from Mexico, it must reduce demand in the U.S. and also curb the flow of arms across the border.
“While the U.S.-Mexican cooperation on arms sales has improved, gun laws in border states like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas do not limit the number of handguns and assault weapons one can purchase and make it easy for weapons to flow south of the border,” Engel said. U.S. and Mexican officials on Monday announced the so-called “Merida Initiative,” described by U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza as “the single most aggressive undertaking ever to combat Mexican drug cartels.”
President Bush asked for $500 million of the Mexican assistance in his latest funding request for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In anticipation of Bush’s release of the Mexico assistance plan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a handful of border lawmakers, including three from Texas, to Mexico this month to discuss the funding with their Mexican counterparts. Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., urged Engel, D-N.Y., to learn more about arms going to Mexico from the U.S.
“It would be a good thing if we could encourage some cooperation on the part of American agencies … in stopping the flow of arms into (Mexico and other countries),” Delahunt said. Delahunt also expressed reluctance to provide the money to Mexico, despite the good intentions of its purpose, without assurances it will work. “I’m not going to spend on a program unless I’m convinced I’m going to see a good return on my investment,” he said.
A U.S.-Mexico relations expert urged the House members not to consider the assistance simply for fighting drug trafficking. Instead it should be seen as “joint bilateral plan to combat transnational organized crime,” said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup. He runs his own consulting firm and is a senior associate of the Center For Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
The $500 million being requested will help strengthen Mexican security forces, Peschard-Sverdrup said. Less than a third of the $1.4 billion will go to the Mexican military and naval forces, he testified. The bulk will go to Mexican public and national security agencies, including the attorney general’s federal investigative agency, customs, a federal public crime prevention police agency and the Mexican immigration and naturalization agency, he said.
Of the first $500 million, 59 percent will be earmarked for civil agencies responsible for law enforcement and security and 41 percent to Mexico’s army and navy. Peschard-Sverdrup said the money will help the military buy big ticket items like planes and helicopters. “It should be noted that the army and navy are Mexico’s only security focused institutions that have a true nationwide deployment capability,” he said in prepared testimony.
“Therefore it is in the interest of the United States to continue to strengthen these institutions so they can combat 21st century threats.” James Jones, a former ambassador to Mexico for the U.S., said respect for human rights also needs to be part of the plan. The U.S. must ensure none of the money provided impedes social movements in Mexico, he said.
By SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press Writer
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
— Formatted and posted to KVIA.com by Miguel Martinez
