Aid to Mexico: Too much, or not enough?

The murders of 3 people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico have reignited debate over the effectiveness of sending in troops to fight drug cartels in Mexico. Despite calls for the withdrawal of troops by residents of Ciudad Juarez, President Felipe Calderon has said he will not pull out the army, as it would not "help Juarez's security problem." However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Mexican president's top aides have "tacitly acknowledged that the army strategy hasn't worked."

Further criticism of the strategy comes from residents of Ciudad Juarez, who have called it a "complete failure." Even U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security said this week that the military deployment "hasn't helped," while a former federal antidrug official said it "was an improvised strategy that wasn't thought through," all according to the WSJ.

Yesterday, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Mexico City, Mexico on March 23rd for the Merida U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Group. A long list of top Obama administration officials will join the Secretary of State for the meeting, where joint efforts against drug cartels will be discussed. According to the press release

Secretary Clinton and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa will chair an interagency discussion on the evolution of the Merida Initiative that focuses on enhanced engagement in support of our shared goals of breaking the power of drug trafficking organizations; strengthening the rule of law, democratic institutions and respect for human rights; creating a 21st century border; and building strong and resilient communities.

The Washington Post editorial board, however, writes that the United States is not doing enough to help Mexico. Today’s editorial argues that Mexico's fight against drug traffickers is a "crisis that is getting too little attention and resources in Washington." The Washington Post proceeds to call on the Obama administration and Congress to expand funding for the Merida Initiative and to make "stabilizing a neighbor and major trading partner" a higher priority.

In other news:

• The Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs is holding a hearing today on "Next Steps for Honduras." The hearing will take place at 2:00 in room 2172 of the Rayburn Office Building. Witnesses include Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly, former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Cresencio "Cris" Arcos, WOLA Senior Associate Vicki Gass, and Brookings Senior Fellow Kevin Casas-Zamora.


• Two articles on Obama's drug policies were published today in the Washington Independent and the Weekly Standard. In the Weekly Standard article, "Obama Just Says No to Soros," John Walters argues that the Obama administration's drug policy is not that different from former President Bush's policies, writing "The drug-legalization zealots may be singing 'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.'" Walters argues that President Obama must do more to stop drug abuse and concludes his article with this:
  

  We are fortunate that President Obama has resisted the wrongheaded advice of George Soros. But it is not enough. Today, leadership is needed on curbing use of marijuana, helping Mexico defeat the traffickers, and working to integrate the battle against terror and drugs in Afghanistan. On these issues the new boss is failing, and there are already troubling survey results indicating youth drug use may be about to rise. Attitudes about drugs are a product of teaching, not mere spending. The annual reports of historic rates of substance abuse among aging Baby Boomers should have taught us by now that exposing our children to these substances is not dangerous for them only as teens. All too often, substance abuse lasts a lifetime.

  The Washington Independent article, titled "White House Shifts Away from 'War on Drugs' Rhetoric," paints a slightly different picture. In it, Mike Lillis argues that behind the rhetoric, the Obama administration is starting to change its drug policies.
  

  While the Obama White House — behind Gil Kerlikowske, the White House drug czar, and his deputy, Thomas McLellan — remains officially opposed to the hot-button harm reduction language, officials have also conceded that the current strategy isn't working, advocates say. That sharp break from past administrations has left reformers hopeful that the Obama White House will mark a new era in the nation's fight against drug abuse — one that prioritizes treatment and prevention above rap sheets and prison time.

• Two FARC hostages, Pablo Emilio Moncayo and Josue Daniel Calvo, could be released by the FARC sometime this week. Brazilian helicopters are standing by near the Colombian border as they await coordinates for the handover.


• The Latin America Herald Tribune reports that a cyberattack prevented the transmission of voting data from Colombia’s legislative elections. It appears that "a coordinated attack from a network of computers was found to have been orchestrated 'to try to crash the Web site of the Registrar’s Office,' which organizes Colombia's elections." This cyberattack resulted in a delay in releasing the results of the country's elections, and President Alvaro Uribe has complained that "while the armed forces risk their lives to protect Colombia's democracy, the electoral board has 'serious' trouble simply reporting on it."


• The U.S. Defense Department issued a press release on the support the U.S. military has provided to Chile's relief efforts after the February 27th earthquake. At the request of the Chilean government, the U.S. team began operations on March 7th and has provided two C-130 transport aircraft, naval assessment experts and an expeditionary medical support team. "In seven days ... the U.S. team completed 17 missions and flew more than 37 hours evacuating 205 Chileans and moving more than 300,000 pounds of cargo in support of the relief efforts."


• Debate on Internet regulation continues in Venezuela, after President Hugo Chavez called for online restrictions in televised remarks over the weekend. The web "can't be something free where people say and do whatever they want. Each country has to have its laws," Chavez said. However critics fear that Chavez's objective is to censor another outlet for free expression.

Today’s Hemispheric Brief was written by Abigail Poe.