MERIDA MONEY: WITHHOLDING 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 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.