On June 26 the US Senate passed a supplemental appropriations bill which included funding for President George W. Bush's Merida Initiative, a project ostensibly aiding the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America. The House of Representatives passed the same bill on June 19, and President Bush is expected to sign it, completing the legislative process.

The legislation provides $65 million for Central American countries and $400 million for Mexico in the first year of the project; Mexico's share includes $215.5 million for Mexico's anti-trafficking programs, $116.5 million for "military cooperation" between Mexico and the US, and $20 million for building institutions and supporting human rights organizations.

The Senate and the House passed different versions of the Merida Initiative in May, but Mexican officials objected to conditions the Senate imposed requiring the monitoring of human rights violations by Mexican security forces. The two houses then worked out a compromise that reduces these conditions to a consultative process between Mexico and the US.

Under pressure from US human rights and labor activists—who called the initiative "Plan Mexico" in reference to a similar package that has funded military operations in Colombia—Congress expressed concern about specific allegations of human rights abuses in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico state, and in Oaxaca in 2006. The legislation also notes the Mexican government's failure to resolve the shooting death of independent US journalist Brad Will in Oaxaca in October 2006.

The Merida Initiative is a small part of the overall appropriations bill, which provides $162 billion for the occupation of Iraq, enough to pay for the war until Bush's term ends in January 2009. (La Jornada, June 27)

Clarification: In Update, June 15, we reported on an authorization that the House of Representatives passed on June 10 for the Merida Initiative. We said the authorization would go to the Senate for approval. In fact, Congressional authorizations are not necessary for the allocation of funds, and Congress decided to bypass the authorization and simply fund the initiative through the supplemental appropriations bill. (Center for International Policy "Plan Colombia and Beyond" blog, June 13)

From Weekly News Update on the Americas, June 29