The Merida Initiative is a security aid package to Mexico and parts of Central America that was recently approved. It has been dubbed Plan Mexico and is a three year $1.4 billion “Regional Security Cooperation Initiative.” Some have described it as more of a partnership as oppose to a foreign aid package. Plan Mexico is tied to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the continued integration of the U.S. , Canada and Mexico into a North American Union.
Much of Plan Mexico is based on the American war on drugs model, which has been costly and ineffective. This model relies primarily on military and law enforcement measures, leading to more surveillance, domestic spying, and further advancing the police state. Plan Mexico will see the transfer of equipment, technological support, and training in an effort to combat Mexico ’s growing drug trade. Some believe that this military approach will further escalate drug related violence and human rights's abuses. There is a push for more military cooperation and the future development of a hemispheric police force that would be able to cross borders. This might not be necessary with creation of a North American Union, as our borders are being systematically erased and our sovereignty sacrificed.
Plan Mexico goes well beyond trying to stop the flow of illegal drugs. At a press conference from the third SPP Leader Summit in Montebello , Quebec in August of 2007, President Bush referred to Mexico ’s drug trade as a continental problem that demanded continental solutions. Laura Carlsen, the director of the Americas Program at the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, stated that Plan Mexico is intimately linked to the SPP. She said, “It would fundamentally restructure the U.S.-Mexico binational relationship, recast economic and social problems as security issues, and militarize Mexican society. “ She went on to say, “Through the SPP, the Bush administration has sought to push its North American trade partners into a common front that would assume shared responsibility for protecting the United States from terrorist threats, promoting and protecting the free-trade economic model, and bolstering U.S. global control.”
As much as half of Plan Mexico funding will go to the military, with later money allocated to law enforcement and judicial agencies. Drug cartels have managed to infiltrate the judicial system and almost every facet of Mexican law enforcement and military. There has been an undeclared border war for some time, with Mexican drug gangs and cartels vying for control. It has been reported by the mainstream media that some Mexican troops who received U.S. training have now switched sides and joined the cartels. There have also been reports of Mexican rogue military incursions across the border. The national media blackout surrounding the border violence has been lifted, as there are fears the violence could further spillover across on to the U.S. side.
Some might recall Plan Colombia , which was launched by the Clinton administration back in 2000. Since its inception, it has failed to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. and has lead to more violence and corruption. New equipment, training, and strategy was later shifted from targeting drug cartels and used against those who oppose the government. Plan Columbia later morphed into the war on terror. There were up to 800 American trainers, including Special Forces, and up to 600 private contractors in Columbia . There are fears that Plan Mexico will result in more U.S. military involvement. The Merida Initiative threatens Mexican sovereignty, will broaden presidential powers, and promote militarization of the country.
The Plan Mexico strategy is part of the SPP and further integration into a North American Union. It will help in creating a fortress North America while spreading the SPP to other parts of the region. This is in an effort for the U.S. to further extend its foreign policy. There has been much speculation about possible American troop involvement, which both U.S. and Mexican authorities have adamantly denied. The U.S. is further merging its military and law enforcement with Canada and Mexico . Are we on the verge of a North American Union army? There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the U.S.-Canadian military agreement that was signed several months back.
