http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/120679.htm
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs Remarks (2009)
Guns, Drugs and Violence: The Merida Initiative and the Challenge in Mexico
David T. Johnson
Assistant Secretary of State
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Statement before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Washington, DC
March 18, 2009
(As prepared)
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Mack, and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Merida Initiative, which is a security cooperation partnership to combat transnational narcotics trafficking and organized crime in Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean.
Roughly 90 percent of all the cocaine consumed in the United States transits Mexico. The country is also the largest foreign supplier of marijuana and much of our domestic consumption of methamphetamine still originates in or transits through Mexico to the United States. Central American officials have identified gangs, drug trafficking, and trafficking of arms as the most pressing security concerns in that region. Transnational crime and narcotics trafficking affect us all, and I would like to share with the Committee what we – at the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Justice, and across agencies – are doing to address it.
Our partners in Mexico, Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have already made considerable progress in their own efforts to confront these problems, and they appreciate our help, which will enable them to greatly expand on this progress. Likewise, the U.S. has committed tremendous resources domestically to reduce drug demand and to secure our borders so that dangerous people and drugs do not come in and guns and drug proceeds do not go out. However, our domestic efforts must be complemented by regional cooperation to confront what is increasingly a transnational problem. Through bilateral and multilateral initiatives, and specifically the Merida Initiative, the governments of Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic are demonstrating unprecedented willingness to work with us and each other to address these issues. This is a compelling opportunity to advance our common national security interests. <<<
[Only a snippet, but you should go and read it, for it sets out what we are doing to help them and are not managing to do in our own country.
Somethings confuse me, and the State Department is one that always leaves me wanting to ask which country they serve, not the U.S. , in my opinion.
granny]