MERIDA MONEY: WITHHOLDING IT IS GOOD IDEA

Officials at the U.S. State Department are recommending that some
Merida Initiative money be held back until Mexico shows that it is
making more of an effort to control ongoing and escalating violence
problems in that country.

Merida is a three-year plan that would give Mexico $1.4 billion to
help in various phases of the fight against drug cartels. The money is
to be given out in phases. But according to the agreement, up to 15
percent of the money can be withheld if human rights complaints in the
country aren't being addressed. It seems fairly obvious that that is
the case.

Perhaps withholding the money will help get the attention of Mexican
officials and help convince them that it's necessary to work harder on
a solution to the violence that has killed approximately 28,000
Mexicans since President Felipe Calderon began his war on the cartels.

The violence has made Juarez one of the most dangerous cities in the
world. Mexican government agencies and officials have been notably
impotent when it comes to stemming the violence.

Whether that's because of inability or unwillingness isn't
clear.

The monster of corruption has many long tentacles and it's not always
easy to tell how far or how high those tentacles have reached.

Also, it's not clear how the Merida money already invested in Mexico
has been used -- or abused.

Tossing money into such an uncertain situation is questionable,
especially not knowing which side of the conflict the money will be
helping.

Is the U.S. government monitoring where the dollars go and how they
are used? Who knows? And there certainly are questions about human
rights in Mexico.

Several groups in Mexico recently sent a message to Congress asking
that the Merida money be held back because of, among other reasons,
laxness in the matter of prosecuting military abuses and torture.

This, of course, speaks to the vast problems in a judicial system
widely thought to be corrupt and in which honest officials are often
rewarded with a volley of bullets.

It's certainly not pleasant to withhold the Merida money. But it's
absolutely necessary until there are guarantees that human rights are
being observed and that the money is being used as intended and isn't
merely taxpayer money being thrown down a black hole.