Mexico City — U.S. military advisers have trained more than 9,000 Mexican personnel over the past five years in a joint initiative that cost the United States around $60 million, the Milenio daily reported last week citing the figures released by the US Defense Ministry.

The US government has provided more than 7,600 different courses to the Mexican military, including training in special forces and anti-terrorist operations, according to the Mexican newspaper.

The training is part of the Merida Initiative, a security cooperation program between the US and Mexico aimed at fighting organized crime and drug trafficking.

The Merida Initiative was first agreed by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who initiated the still-ongoing Mexican Drug War against the local drug cartels days after assuming office in December 2006.

Overall, the US Congress has appropriated $2.3 billion since the start of the Merida Initiative in 2008, according to the US State Department figures.

Over the past five years, US military advisers trained more than 9,000 Mexican military personnel as part of a security cooperation program between the United States and Mexico aimed at fighting organized crime and drug trafficking.