UNDERSTANDING AND
IMPROVING
The United States’ ambitious anti-narcotics program, the Mérida
With the Mérida Initiative set to
expire on September 31, 2010, it’s
time to evaluate in what form
the initiative should continue.
Developed under the administration of former president George
W. Bush and passed by Congress
in 2008, the Mérida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics
and Reduce Organized Crime provided $1.4 billion over
three years to help Mexico and its neighbors confront
the challenges posed by drug cartels and criminal violence. At the time, the program, which included Mexico,
the seven countries of Central America, the Dominican
Republic, and Haiti, was considered essential to demonstrate sustained U.S. government support for the efforts
of these governments to tackle lawlessness within their
own borders, as well as to support the United States’ own
security initiatives in the region.
IT STILL REMAINS
ESSENTIAL
As the initiative completes its final year, two key
components will come into play: formation of
the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) to provide a stronger identity
to regional programs in Central America, and
a significant shift of emphasis in Mexico’s security projects to strengthen democratic institutions and expand
the smart border along the U.S. and Mexico, allowing
for secured, fast transport directly from farms and factories to the United States. Furthermore, this year, the
Obama administration created the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) to include Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the effort.
The State Department has proposed a major renewal
and expansion of the program. Starting in 2011, $310 million would be granted to Mexico,1 another $100 million
for CARSI,2 and $79 million for CBSI. Assessing the value
of this “second generation” of U. S. support requires untangling its various threads and the distinct points of
collaboration within the governments of the region to
reflect the complexity of U. S. relations with the Central
American governments.
While there is clarity on how Mérida funds will be
used and disbursed in Mexico, the Central American
component of the project is somewhat less defined,
with the Caribbean almost an afterthought. Despite the
State Department’s claim that a collaborative process
with host governments exists, the fact that seven governments with different national security interests are
involved in the project has complicated the institutional
arrangements. For instance, the selection of the coordinating ministry within the host country appears to depend more upon established embassy-host-government
relationships and a history of constructive bilateral projects than on any regional and standardized procedures.
While this flexibility may be admirable, given our varying relations, transparency over the use of U. S. taxpayer
money and policy coordination suffers.
The following is a description of how the system has
