[Peace-discussion] Mainstream media: US Counter-Insurgency In Mexico--Hundreds of Million Dollars, Blackhawks, training, equiping, and surveilance
henry duke
henryduke2004@yahoo.com
Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:30:57 -0700
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http://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/1298323/
"The aid package could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars and
include everything from Blackhawk helicopters and other sophisticated
military equipment to increased training and surveillance capabilities. The
discussions are underway as Mexico confronts one of the bloodiest periods in
more than two decades of drug lords building and consolidating power. Since
2006, Mexico has suffered 3,000 drug-related killings as the two most-feared
drug gangs - the Sinaloa and Gulf - have battled for turf, lucrative
transport routes, and political influence."
Mexico seeks anti-drug aid from U.S.
By Howard LaFranchi
The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Alarmed by rising threats to Mexican law and order from
ever-more-brazen drug lords, the Bush administration is quietly negotiating
a counternarcotics aid package with the Mexican government that would
increase United States involvement in a drug war south of the border.
The fact that Mexico - which has historically been averse to any assistance
from the United States that could be construed as a breach of its
sovereignty - is seeking the increased aid shows how serious a threat
President Felipe Calderon sees drug gangs posing to his country.
The aid package could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars and
include everything from Blackhawk helicopters and other sophisticated
military equipment to increased training and surveillance capabilities. The
discussions are underway as Mexico confronts one of the bloodiest periods in
more than two decades of drug lords building and consolidating power. Since
2006, Mexico has suffered 3,000 drug-related killings as the two most-feared
drug gangs - the Sinaloa and Gulf - have battled for turf, lucrative
transport routes, and political influence.
Upon taking office in December, Mr. Calderon wasted no time, signaling his
will to confront gangs by sending thousands of troops into states where
Mexico's top six gangs operate. He also used diplomatic channels to issue a
hushed but urgent plea for assistance from the United States - the primary
market for Colombian cocaine transported through Mexico.
"It's a huge difference that Calderon is asking for assistance, something
[former President Vicente] Fox never did," says Adam Isacson, director of
programs at the Center for International Policy in Washington. "They have to
be swallowing hard to even be asking the United States for hundreds of
millions of dollars in aid."
A sensitive issue
Officials from both countries are reluctant to discuss details of the aid
package, given Mexican sensitivities and the questions sure to arise in the
U.S. Congress over human-rights abuses in Mexico and the infiltration of
drug gangs into Mexican police and military. But President Bush and Calderon
are expected to take up the issue when they meet in two weeks at a NAFTA
summit in Canada.
Calderon has not been shy about publicly airing what he sees as the United
States role as a drug-consuming country in Mexico's violence, and therefore
its responsibility to help address the problem. But the scope of the package
has led to it being dubbed "Plan Mexico" in some congressional circles - a
comparison to the multi-billion-dollar "Plan Colombia" begun under President
Bill Clinton to help Colombia battle an entrenched "narcoguerrilla" and wean
the rural economy off of cultivation of the coca leaf, the raw material for
cocaine.
Comparing Mexico's case with Colombia's is misleading, analysts say, in part
because Mexico is guarded about even a suggestion of U.S. military
intervention.
"Mexico prohibits US military training in the country, and that's not about
to change," says Maureen Meyer, director of Mexico issues at the Washington
Office on Latin America.
Currently Mexico receives about $40 million a year in counternarcotics
assistance from the U.S., which puts it well below Colombia and even Peru -
a country that, like Colombia, is a producer of coca. Some Mexican soldiers
do receive training in the U.S., and the FBI trains and works with police in
Mexico. But unlike in Colombia, where the U.S. Army and Marines have served
training and advisory roles, no one is discussing the idea of putting
American military personnel on Mexican soil.
Mexico is battling a handful of powerful drug lords - who in turn are
fighting a war of attrition against one another - not a domestic guerrilla
group that has entered the drug trade as a way to make money. The latter has
been the case with Colombia's fight against the trafficking operations of
the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC.
In Mexico, "it's not the FARC, it's Pablo Escobar," says Mr. Isacson,
referring to the storied Colombian cocaine king killed in 1993. "And that
suggests a very different kind of aid package."
Plan Colombia money also helps rural families displaced by decades of
fighting and goes toward "illicit crop eradication" and alternative crop
development - issues that are either nonexistent or (in the case of
eradication) less important in Mexico.
Mexico's increased aid is expected instead to buy equipment to improve the
country's monitoring of its air space, systems for electronic surveillance,
high-powered weapons, and professional training for Mexican security forces,
say officials from the two countries
One objective is to "level the playing field" for Mexican security officers
who confront opponents in drug gangs - some of whom are better armed and
trained than the officers. (Indeed, some members of the Gulf cartel's
notorious enforcement arm, the Zetas, are former Mexican military personnel
who received US training.)
Cause for concern
But the planned aid increase raises some troubling questions, say analysts
from both sides of the border. They include:
* To what extent will it deepen the involvement of Mexico's military in a
battle with domestic crime gangs?
* How much will it focus on cleaning up and professionalizing the Mexican
police, considered in Mexico to be corrupt?
* What emphasis will be put on reinforcing the rule of law by boosting aid
to Mexico's judicial system and civil-society organizations focused on human
rights?
* To what extent does increased US involvement play into an extension of the
war on terror south of the border and into Central America?
"Unless a large part of any package deals with getting institutions like the
police and the judicial system ... back into the game, you'll open the door
to the military being the answer in all cases of crime and law enforcement,"
says Isacson.
Some analysts say the US must develop a regional strategy against
drug-trafficking if it hopes to match the multinational fluidity of the drug
cartels. Europol could provide a "useful template" for a regional antidrug
effort, writes Roger Noriega, Mr. Bush's former assistant secretary for
Western Hemisphere affairs, in a commentary for the American Enterprise
Institute published last week.
While that may be a long-term goal, Mr. Noriega says the US should act
quickly to assist Mexico in its drug war and take advantage of Calderon's
request for help. Leaving the matter to the appropriations process would
mean boosting aid perhaps a year from now, he notes, adding that the
opportunity presented by Calderon - and the ongoing threat to US security
from international drug trafficking - warrants Bush seeking "urgent
supplemental funds" this fall. "The opportunity to build this alliance
against a deadly foe may not come again," he adds.
Copyright 2007 The Christian Science Monitor
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<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href=3D"http://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/129=
8323/">http://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/1298=
323/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>“The
aid package could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars and =
include
everything from Blackhawk helicopters and other sophisticated military
equipment to increased training and surveillance capabilities. The =
discussions are
underway as <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region></st1:place>
confronts one of the bloodiest periods in more than two decades of drug =
lords
building and consolidating power. Since 2006, Mexico has suffered 3,000
drug-related killings as the two most-feared drug gangs =
</span></font>—<font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> =
the Sinaloa
and Gulf </span></font>—<font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> have battled for turf, lucrative transport =
routes,
and political influence.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<table class=3DMsoNormalTable border=3D0 cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 =
width=3D"100%"
style=3D'width:100.0%'>
<tr>
<td valign=3Dtop style=3D'padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'>
<h1><b><font size=3D4 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:13.5pt;font-family:
Arial'>Mexico seeks anti-drug aid from =
U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=3Dtop style=3D'padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>By
Howard LaFranchi<br>
The Christian Science Monitor <br>
<br>
WASHINGTON, D.C. </span></font>—<font size=3D1 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Alarmed by rising threats =
to
Mexican law and order from ever-more-brazen drug lords, the Bush
administration is quietly negotiating a counternarcotics aid package =
with the
Mexican government that would increase <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> =
involvement in a
drug war south of the border.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<table class=3DMsoNormalTable border=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 =
align=3Dright>
<tr>
<td style=3D'padding:2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt'>
<iframe marginwidth=3D0 marginheight=3D0
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The
fact that Mexico </span></font>—<font size=3D1 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> which has historically =
been averse
to any assistance from the United States that could be construed as a =
breach
of its sovereignty </span></font>—<font size=3D1 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> is seeking the increased =
aid shows
how serious a threat President Felipe Calderon sees drug gangs posing =
to his
country. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The
aid package could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars and =
include
everything from Blackhawk helicopters and other sophisticated military
equipment to increased training and surveillance capabilities. The
discussions are underway as <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>
confronts one of the bloodiest periods in more than two decades of =
drug lords
building and consolidating power. Since 2006, <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> has suffered =
3,000
drug-related killings as the two most-feared drug gangs =
</span></font>—<font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> the
Sinaloa and Gulf </span></font>—<font size=3D1 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> have battled for turf, =
lucrative
transport routes, and political =
influence.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Upon
taking office in December, Mr. Calderon wasted no time, signaling his =
will to
confront gangs by sending thousands of troops into states where =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s top
six gangs operate. He also used diplomatic channels to issue a hushed =
but
urgent plea for assistance from the <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">United
States</st1:country-region> </span></font>—<font size=3D1 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> the primary market for =
Colombian
cocaine transported through <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></f=
ont></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>"It's
a huge difference that Calderon is asking for assistance, something =
[former
President Vicente] Fox never did," says Adam Isacson, director of
programs at the Center for International Policy in <st1:State =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>. "They have to be
swallowing hard to even be asking the <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> for =
hundreds of
millions of dollars in aid."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>A sensitive issue</span></font></b></strong><font =
size=3D1
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>=
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Officials
from both countries are reluctant to discuss details of the aid =
package,
given Mexican sensitivities and the questions sure to arise in the =
U.S.
Congress over human-rights abuses in <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the =
infiltration of
drug gangs into Mexican police and military. But President Bush and =
Calderon
are expected to take up the issue when they meet in two weeks at a =
NAFTA
summit in <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></f=
ont></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Calderon
has not been shy about publicly airing what he sees as the =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">United States</st1:country-region> role as a =
drug-consuming country
in <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
violence, and therefore its responsibility to help address the =
problem. But
the scope of the package has led to it being dubbed "Plan =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region>" in some congressional =
circles - a
comparison to the multi-billion-dollar "Plan <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:country-region>"
begun under President Bill Clinton to help <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region> battle an =
entrenched
"narcoguerrilla" and wean the rural economy off of =
cultivation of
the coca leaf, the raw material for =
cocaine.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Comparing
<st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region>'s case =
with <st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:country-region>'s is misleading, analysts =
say, in
part because <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region> is
guarded about even a suggestion of <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> military =
intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>"<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region> prohibits <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:country-region>
military training in the country, and that's not about to =
change," says
Maureen Meyer, director of <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region>
issues at the Washington Office on <st1:place w:st=3D"on">Latin =
America</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Currently
<st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:country-region> receives =
about $40
million a year in counternarcotics assistance from the =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">U.S.</st1:country-region>, which puts it well below =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:country-region> and even <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Peru</st1:country-region>
</span></font>—<font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> a country that, like <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, is a producer =
of coca.
Some Mexican soldiers do receive training in the <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">U.S.</st1:country-region>,
and the FBI trains and works with police in <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>. But unlike in =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
where the U.S. Army and Marines have served training and advisory =
roles, no
one is discussing the idea of putting American military personnel on =
Mexican
soil.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place w:st=3D"on"><font =
size=3D1
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Mexico</span></font></st1:pla=
ce></st1:country-region><font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> is
battling a handful of powerful drug lords </span></font>—<font =
size=3D1
face=3DArial><span style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> who in =
turn are
fighting a war of attrition against one another =
</span></font>—<font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> not a
domestic guerrilla group that has entered the drug trade as a way to =
make
money. The latter has been the case with <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s fight against =
the
trafficking operations of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, or =
FARC.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>In
<st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
"it's not the FARC, it's Pablo Escobar," says Mr. Isacson,
referring to the storied Colombian cocaine king killed in 1993. =
"And
that suggests a very different kind of aid =
package."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Plan
<st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Colombia</st1:country-region> money =
also helps
rural families displaced by decades of fighting and goes toward =
"illicit
crop eradication" and alternative crop development - issues that =
are
either nonexistent or (in the case of eradication) less important in =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></f=
ont></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Mexico's
increased aid is expected instead to buy equipment to improve the =
country's
monitoring of its air space, systems for electronic surveillance,
high-powered weapons, and professional training for Mexican security =
forces,
say officials from the two countries<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>One
objective is to "level the playing field" for Mexican =
security
officers who confront opponents in drug gangs =
</span></font>—<font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> some of
whom are better armed and trained than the officers. (Indeed, some =
members of
the Gulf cartel's notorious enforcement arm, the Zetas, are former =
Mexican
military personnel who received <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> =
training.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Cause
for concern<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>But
the planned aid increase raises some troubling questions, say analysts =
from
both sides of the border. They include:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>*
To what extent will it deepen the involvement of <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s military in a =
battle
with domestic crime gangs?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>*
How much will it focus on cleaning up and professionalizing the =
Mexican
police, considered in <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to be corrupt?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>*
What emphasis will be put on reinforcing the rule of law by boosting =
aid to <st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
judicial system and civil-society organizations focused on human =
rights?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>*
To what extent does increased <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:country-region>
involvement play into an extension of the war on terror south of the =
border
and into <st1:place w:st=3D"on">Central =
America</st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>"Unless
a large part of any package deals with getting institutions like the =
police
and the judicial system ... back into the game, you'll open the door =
to the
military being the answer in all cases of crime and law =
enforcement,"
says Isacson.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Some
analysts say the <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
must develop a regional strategy against drug-trafficking if it hopes =
to
match the multinational fluidity of the drug cartels. Europol could =
provide a
"useful template" for a regional antidrug effort, writes =
Roger
Noriega, Mr. Bush's former assistant secretary for <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Western
Hemisphere</st1:place> affairs, in a commentary for the American =
Enterprise
Institute published last week.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>While
that may be a long-term goal, Mr. Noriega says the <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:country-region>
should act quickly to assist <st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>
in its drug war and take advantage of Calderon's request for help. =
Leaving the
matter to the appropriations process would mean boosting aid perhaps a =
year
from now, he notes, adding that the opportunity presented by Calderon =
- and
the ongoing threat to US security from international drug trafficking =
</span></font>—<font
size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> warrants
Bush seeking "urgent supplemental funds" this fall. =
"The
opportunity to build this alliance against a deadly foe may not come
again," he adds.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3D1 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Copyright
2007 The Christian Science Monitor <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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