| | |  Americas & Beyond 
US Gov’t to Give Aid for Mexico’s Demilitarization
 The News
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March 02, 2010
| | A soldier with seized items from a pawnshop. Once police officers are properly trained, they will replace soldiers on the streets. (The News) | |
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. government will deliver, within the next few years, millions of dollars in equipment to contribute to the demilitarization of the fight against drug trafficking and the training of thousands of police, customs and security officers, according to the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). This aid aims to prepare civil police forces to undertake security tasks and disband drug cartels.
The report says that once the army resumes its traditional role, an increase in the confiscation of marijuana and opium is expected.
The United States commended the actions of the Mexican government, led by President Felipe Calderón, against drug trafficking, but it urged the implementation of the approved judicial reforms in order to complement bilateral actions.
“We see a broad commitment to building the institutions of an effective policing system in Mexico, and a reform of its judicial institutions,” Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs David T. Johnson said during a press briefing on the strategy that evaluates the anti-drug cooperation system between 183 countries and the United States.
“I think that that has very broad support, certainly in our government and we think in Mexico as well,” he added.
The United States is currently weighing up “new ways” of reducing drug demand in their territory and stopping the flow of weapons and money that nourishes drug trafficking and violence in Mexico.
The report also says that Mexico is still key in money laundering. According to official data, drug trafficking generates an annual income of between $15 and $30 billion, and this is just in sales in the United States alone.
“I think that money laundering is one of the areas we are seeking to address both in terms of domestic operations within Mexico and the United States as well as our cooperative effort. One of the things that my colleagues and I are responsible for in terms of the cooperation program is providing equipment and training for Mexican border authorities and Mexican law enforcement authorities so that they can better detect bulk cash smuggling,” Johnson said.
In 2011, President Barack Obama requested from Congress a total of $410 million for the Mérida Initiative, of which $310 million will be destined for Mexico and the rest to Central America.
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