DRUG WAR WORRIES SOME MEXICANS

U.S. Proposes To Spend $1.4 Billion In Fight

Published on Monday, October 15, 2007 MEXICO CITY -- A massive U.S.
aid package to fight violent drug cartels has sparked a collective
bout of hand-wringing in Mexico, where anything hinting at U.S.
intervention has long been viewed with suspicion.

For months, Mexico has been consumed with news of the proposed
package, although little has been publicly revealed except for its
price tag: a reported $1.4 billion over two years, on par with what
Colombia receives as part of that country's controversial
drug-eradication program. Advertisement*

Mexico, which has had more than 2,000 drug-related, execution-style
murders this year, might be expected to welcome such a bounty with
open arms. But the two nations' mutual history -- which includes the
loss of one-third of Mexico's territory to the United States -- makes
any U.S. involvement in Mexico a touchy subject.

While President Felipe Calderon's government has pursued U.S.
assistance, opposition politicians have argued the aid package would
violate Mexico's sovereignty and polls show most Mexicans oppose the help.

Concern has centered not on the aid itself -- which will likely be
used for military and law enforcement training and to buy equipment
like helicopters -- but on what might accompany it.

Analysts on both sides of the border say the aid will most certainly
come with some level of oversight from the U.S. Congress, which may
be hard to swallow for Mexican agencies unused to a public accounting
of any kind, let alone from a foreign government.

"There will be an enormous amount of scrutiny and a lot of questions
on how the money is used and how effective Mexico's anti-narcotic
strategy is," said Ana Maria Salazar, a Mexico City analyst and
former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for drug
enforcement policy and support. "That will always be an uncomfortable factor."

Presidents Bush and Calderon are expected to announce details of the
plan in two or three weeks, when the proposals will likely be sent to
the nations' respective congresses for approval.

U.S. officials have praised Mexico's recent efforts, saying military
crackdowns on the cartels have disrupted the flow of drugs into the
United States.

"Calderon has done a phenomenal job in addressing the cartels and
criminal gangs," U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, who has pushed
for the aid package, said in a telephone interview. "I think they
warrant and deserve our assistance."

The complicated relationship with the United States causes Mexican
officials to chafe at comparisons to Plan Colombia (as the Colombian
aid package is known) and lecture reporters who have baptized the aid
package "Plan Mexico."

Analysts also fret that the aid may come with increased pressure to
allow U.S. agents to carry weapons and pursue drug traffickers on
Mexican soil, long a goal of U.S. law enforcement.

The Mexico City daily El Universal reported last week that undercover
U.S. agents have infiltrated Mexican cartels, sometimes without the
knowledge of the Mexican government.

Mexican and U.S. officials have insisted the package will not include
an American military presence in Mexico, as exists in Colombia.

Most Mexicans are wary. A poll taken at the height of cartel violence
in June found that 37 percent favor the aid, while 58 percent of
Mexicans don't want any U.S. help.

Calderon's political opponents have railed against the aid package,
some to make political hay, others because they fear the money will
bring the nation's drug fighting strategy under American control.

"Mexico is a country that can afford to pay the cost of the plan,"
Manuel Camacho Solis, a top official of the leftist Democratic
Revolution Party, wrote recently in a newspaper column. "It
represents just a small proportion of public and oil-related income.
On the other hand, accepting the donation puts us completely in the
hands of the United States government."

Leftists in Mexico have also expressed concern that the aid package
could be used to go after guerrilla groups and other political
opponents of the government.

Meanwhile, there is concern on both sides of the border over the
Mexican military's human rights record and its effectiveness in
fighting the drug cartels.

While the military's role was initially meant to be temporary --
Mexican army units weren't trained to do police-style drug
investigations -- the aid plan could give the military a permanent
role. According to published reports, 60 percent of the money will go
to police agencies with the rest going to the military.

Calderon's decision after taking office late last year to step up the
military's involvement in drug enforcement initially caused an
unprecedented surge in violence.

Mexico averaged nearly 100 murders per week earlier this year,
including a rash of beheadings. Dozens of police and public officials
were gunned down.

The trouble spread to northern Sonora state, affecting the nearby
cities of Cananea and Agua Prieta.

The violence declined over the summer as the nation's two major
cartels reportedly entered into a truce. Supporters called the truce,
which proved short-lived, proof that the military pressure worked.

Critics argued the violence has more to do with the internal workings
of the cartels than anything Calderon's government did. In recent
weeks, violence has spiked again.

More disturbingly, human rights groups say, the military has
committed a host of atrocities during its battle against drug
traffickers. Mexico's human rights commissioner has recommended
sending the military back to its barracks, citing numerous abuses.

Among them:

Four soldiers were sentenced in relation to the rape of 14 women in
the border state of Coahuila in July 2006.

A family of five was gunned down and killed as they drove through a
military checkpoint in Sinaloa in June. Seven soldiers later tested
positive for marijuana and cocaine.

The army was accused of robbery, torture, arbitrary detention and
sexual abuse during operations in marijuana-growing regions of the
state of Michoacan.

"We could be entering a spiral in which we strengthen the presence of
the military," said Jose Luis Pineyro, Mexico's foremost national
security expert. "Time will tell if there are more pros than cons
with this plan."