Mexico's Narco-Insurgency and U.S. Counterdrug Policy

Abstract

On June 30, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Merida Initiative, a 3-year, $1.4 billion counterdrug assistance program for Mexico and Central America. The bulk of this money is destined for Mexico, where it will help fund counternarcotics operations against the powerful cartels that have recently turned much of that country into a war zone. Since 2006, Mexico has suffered thousands of drug-related killings, a dramatic deterioration of public security, and severe psychological and social trauma; the Merida Initiative aims to rectify this situation by giving the Mexican government the tools to take the offensive in its fight against the drug traffickers. The program is likely to be extended in some form when its original mandate expires, and thus presages a long-term U.S. commitment to counternarcotics in Mexico.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA499142

Entities

People

  • Hal Brands

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Central America
  • Commerce
  • Criminals
  • Drug Abuse
  • Drug Trafficking
  • Economic Development
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Police
  • Political Systems
  • Societies
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies