“Bicentennial Understanding”: keys to understanding the program that will replace the Merida Initiative

The bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States will take a new course in the coming months, welcoming the program Understanding the bicentenary – It takes the Merida Initiative, who was born in the administrations of the Mexican president, Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) and its American counterpart, George bush (2001-2009) -.

The new strategy, announced this Friday in the High level dialogue that Federal President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has spoken to with US government officials, aims to reduce violence, migration, border security and end impunity.

13 years after the entry into force of the Merida Initiative, which was based on the assumption of shared responsibility in the face of the threat of drug trafficking, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard stressed that this program was dead and Understanding the bicentenary I would supplant him.

However, he announced changes such as the elimination of the gun aidIn other words, the United States will no longer be able to send more tactical equipment to Mexico.

The government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador insisted that 70% of the country’s weapons – which were also used to equip drug cartels – came from the United States.

The new framework for collaboration between Mexico and the United States must be based on two foundations: mutual respect; the bicentennial plan of understanding will be a plan of equal adaptation for both nations. At this point, the United States intends to implement programs to eliminate complaints of human rights violations by the Mexican armed forces.

Also, extraditions they should be applied at the same speed in Mexico and the United States.

From the start of the López Obrador government, the Mérida Initiative has been a puzzle, since since then the Federal President has questioned and scorned the freedom of action enjoyed by undercover agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

In this sense, shortly before the meeting this Friday between the Mexican president and American officials, a delay in the Ministry of External Relations (SRE) in issuing visas to DEA employees.

Sources close to the DEA pointed to the news channel CNN that the process – which lasts about a month – took six months. This makes it difficult for informants to work on fight against drugs.

The delay has already affected some twenty representatives of the DEA, this Agency therefore extended the stay of the elements who were already in Mexico.

In addition to the controversy over the infiltration of DEA agents, for López Obrador, the Initiative had poor results on the effects of combating drug trafficking.

Mexico’s budget in all areas of security is 223 million 755,700 pesosDespite this, prevention and anti-corruption policies are slow to yield results, because if there is not a systematic war on corruption, the other will not succeed. The hits to organized crime will always be low, otherwise officials involved in drug trafficking are also affected.

KEEP READING: