Drug War Aid to Latin America Goes Unspent

(AP)  Only $26 million of the $1.4 billion authorized to help Mexico and Central America fight organized crime has been spent due to bureaucracy, conditions placed on the funds by Congress and preparations in recipient countries, according to a government report scheduled for release Thursday.

While nearly all of the $1.4 billion pledged in October 2007 as part of the Merida Initiative has been appropriated by Congress, only about two percent was spent as of Sept. 30, according to a draft copy of a Government Accountability Office report obtained by The Associated Press.

"It sounds like a horror story," Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, said of the program's slow implementation. "This was supposed to be an emergency."

There was an air of crisis when Congress approved the first $400 million installment for Mexico in June 2008. At that time, more than 4,000 people had died in drug-related violence in that country since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against the drug cartels in December 2006. The death toll now stands at nearly 14,000.

Mexico will get the bulk of the money and so far has received nearly all - $24.2 million - of what has been spent.

It has yielded 26 armored vehicles, 30 machines to detect drugs and explosive materials and five x-ray vans, as well as software and several training programs.

The report blamed red tape and the need to bolster the institutions that will be receiving the funds in Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The U.S. too needed to increase staffing at its embassy in Mexico to handle the daily demands created by a seven-fold increase in U.S. law enforcement assistance.

Also, Congress stipulated that some of the money for Mexico could not be spent until the State Department reported that the government had investigated and prosecuted members of its federal police and military who are believed to have committed human rights abuses.

Hakim said it was hard to dispute the human rights concerns expressed by Congress, but that it was counterproductive to attach conditions to funding after an agreement has been cemented.

"The various provisions and conditions are probably worthwhile, but frankly, they are not helpful in building a partnership," he said.

Other delays are bureaucratic. It takes three to six months to negotiate and sign a contract that will send a new helicopter to a country, according to the report. Then it takes a year or more to build the helicopter to the country's specifications. The State Department has had some success in expediting the process though and anticipates the delivery of five new helicopters to Mexico by the end of the year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the delays, specifically for helicopters, during her visit to Mexico in March.

"I am well aware that our long process of approval was cumbersome and challenging for the Mexican Government," Clinton said. "We're going to see what we can do to cut that time."

One month later, Clinton testified to Congress that "we've got to get the money flowing. Honestly, I don't understand why it's so hard, and we're really digging deep to figure that out."

State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said Wednesday the agency would not comment on a report that had not been formally released.

The initiative resulted from the Merida Summit in March 2007 between President George W. Bush and Calderon. It was a recognition of the shared threat posed by organized crime and called for a huge funding boost spread over three years.

The funds will pay for equipment such as helicopters, non-intrusive scanners, and improved law enforcement communications networks, as well as technical training to strengthen the countries' justice systems and expand anti-gang programs.

U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, (D-NY), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said, "As President Calderon confronts his country's brutal drug cartels head on, we must cut through our own government's red tape to get Merida Initiative assistance flowing to Mexico more quickly."

[wyodutch]

Hancock, Adams and Franklin knew that at some point, every government becomes corrupt, tyrannical and out of control. They thoughtfully provided us with a solution against that inevitability.
..
.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

[sean56v]

Mexico and Central America enforce their own laws on medicinal crops. The funds could be used for New Orleans flood relief. Congress should learn how to spend money correctly.

[joelwisch]

Over and over again, we see programs that the Federal Government cannot handle and you have to wonder why. Is it the administration.. the civil service direction? Why.

But this program is going to the wrong way. The GAO has already told us the physical fence is a joke, and the electronic fence doesn't work. Sending money down south with the Border Patrol telling us they only catch about one in ten of the border crossers seems to indicate we need to put at least some of that money into our .. non corrupt... Border Patrol, and little to none into far away places when that clearly, clearly doesn't work. Tucson, AZ just reported seizing over a ton of dope in a distribution point. Lets think about this before we ..don't... put troops on the border and rely on the internal processes to control narcotics on the streets.

[MatterofLiberty]

So lets review. We are in the "War on Drugs" right? So that means the goal or point of victory will be when we erradicate all drugs??? Is this possible?? Any responders out there honestly think that we can ever effectively eliminate all Drugs? So if we are not going to be able to win, then we going to stay in a perpetual war. We are wasting LEO and citizen life and insane amounts of money to a failed strategy. 1.3% of the population was addicted to drugs when we started this war... and after all this time 1.3% of the population is still addicted to drugs. Lets try something new. Legalize and tax Cannabis. This will remove 60%-70% of proffits from organized drug cartels(which operate in over 200 American cities). Get other drug users treatment if they are truly addicted. The non addicts a simple drug education course in the dangers of drugs. Lock up only those selling/importing drugs and selling to minors. Keep otherwise law abididing adults out of our already over burdened criminal justice system and for-profit prisons, and into a productive life. The American Tax payer has about had enough. Considering that almost a 3rd of Americans have been stigmatized by these laws (or is related to someone who has) this is a KEY issue that our tax paid officials are ignoring!

[novamba]

...and by the way, our government cant manage a 1.4 Billion dollar program but people actually believe the government can handle a 1 trillion dollar health care plan? This is proof positive...

[novamba]

KirkMuse, very well said...especially the comment on drugs in high security prisons...

[Marcos989]

I would prefer to keep the money in the USA.
Earmark it for increased mental health care, drug programs to get the users clean and prison beds for those that do not want to get off the dope.
Any money left over (rsrs) spend in on securing the Southern border.
Decrease demand.

[novamba]

more prisons? how many more prisons will 1.4 billion build after politicians get done earmarking all kinds of pork? Legalize and tax... this war was lost the day we entered it. we continue to throw good money after idiotic problems, instead of letting the problem pay for its own damage. Drug use is here to stay.

[hologram5]

Why may I ask are we sending money to combat something that is a totally failed policy here? This is the most stupid thing I have heard all day. We could REALLY use that money right here fixing our own mess.

[cleric60]

"Only $26 million of the $1.4 billion authorized to help Mexico and Central America fight organized crime has been spent due to bureaucracy, conditions placed on the funds by Congress and preparations in recipient countries, according to a government report scheduled for release Thursday.".......So, we want the Federal government to be in charge of our health care??????????
How much of the $26 million really got to Mexico & Central America???
Again, is those in our national goverment addicted to money, greed, power?

[KirkMuse]

If Plan Colombia had exceeded all expectations
and all of the cocaine in Colombia had been eliminated, it would not affect the supply of cocaine or any other drugs reaching American's. As long as people want recreational drugs and they are willing to pay a substantial price for the drugs, somebody will
produce the drugs and somebody else will get the drugs to the willing buyers.

This is guaranteed.

We cannot keep illegal drugs out of our highest security jails and prisons, so how can we reasonably expect to be able to keep illegal drugs out of our country with thousands of miles of coastline and
thousands of miles of international borders?

The obvious answer is that we cannot.

[chase_g]

Of course we cant keep drugs out, just like with our police force we cant keep murders or rapes from happening, but we do a pretty good job. Yeah the drugs wont be gone, they probably never will be, but are you saying to not even try? We can still give an effort and vastly improve their country and our country.