War on drug cartels heats up
MEXICO CITY: The United States and Mexico were set to discuss an overhaul of their joint fight against drug cartels during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said Mexico no longer wants helicopter gunships and other weapons to combat drug traffickers, urging the US to invest in regional economic development instead.
Ahead of Mr Blinken’s visit, his first to Mexico as the top US diplomat, Washington indicated that it was ready to revamp a 13-year-old programme called the Merida Initiative that provided US military firepower, technical support and security training.
“We believe we are due for an updated look at our bilateral security cooperation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
He said Washington wanted to see the “significant gains” made by the Merida Initiative “preserved, that that cooperation is deepened and that we have an updated approach that accounts for the threats of today”.
The Mexican government has gone further, calling for an end to the Merida Initiative.
“We don’t want it to be like it was before when they brought us a helicopter gunship and a photo was taken of the US ambassador with the president,” Mr Lopez Obrador said in June.
He argues that investing in development projects in the region would help counter not only drug trafficking but also migrant flows — another major challenge facing the two countries.
Under the Merida Initiative, the US has given Mexico about US$3 billion since 2008 for law enforcement training and equipment such as Black Hawk helicopters.
At the same time, US authorities have focused on helping Mexico to arrest drug kingpins like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and send them to the United States to face trial.
Mr Blinken, accompanied by US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, will hold meetings with Lopez Obrador and other top Mexican officials, including Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, during his one-day visit.
Mexico will use the talks to push for steps to speed up extraditions and reduce the flow of arms from the US, Mr Ebrard said.
In August, Mexico filed a lawsuit against major US gunmakers over illegal cross-border arms flows that it blames for fuelling drug-related violence.
Mexico is plagued by cartel bloodshed that has seen over 300,000 people murdered since 2006.