The Washington Post
Updated: April 30, 2013
MEXICO CITY — Mexico is ending the widespread access it gave to U.S. security agencies in the name of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime as the country’s new government seeks to change its focus from violence to its emerging economy.
The change was confirmed by Mexico’s Foreign Ministry on Monday as the government lays out a broad bilateral agenda in advance of Thursday’s visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.
All contact for U.S. law enforcement will now go through “a single door,” the federal Interior Ministry, the agency that controls security and domestic policy, said Sergio Alcocer, deputy foreign secretary for North American affairs.
It’s a dramatic shift from the direct sharing of resources and intelligence between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement under former President Felipe Calderon, who was lauded by the U.S. repeatedly for increasing cooperation between the two countries. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
Showing posts with label national security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national security. Show all posts
Apr 30, 2013
Apr 8, 2013
Peña Nieto Reveals 2014 Security Budget
InSight Crime
Written by Claire O'Neill McCleskey
Peña Nieto's proposed $4.4 billion security spending plan for 2014 allots over a third of its budget to crime prevention.
Peña Nieto's 2014 budget plan of 54 billion pesos was outlined in a document sent by the Treasury Department (SHCP) to the Senate for consideration, reported Proceso.
A large proportion of the budget, nearly 20 billion pesos (around $1.6 billion) will go to "prevention and deterrence of crime." Meanwhile, $1.4 billion will go to the penal system, $122 million to the new gendarmarie police force, and $231 million to the intelligence services. Some $382 million will be distributed to states, municipalities, and the Federal District for public security.
The growth in the security budget for 2014 represents only a small increase over the projected inflation rate of 3 percent for next year, reported El Economista. Read more
Written by Claire O'Neill McCleskey
Peña Nieto's proposed $4.4 billion security spending plan for 2014 allots over a third of its budget to crime prevention.
Peña Nieto's 2014 budget plan of 54 billion pesos was outlined in a document sent by the Treasury Department (SHCP) to the Senate for consideration, reported Proceso.
A large proportion of the budget, nearly 20 billion pesos (around $1.6 billion) will go to "prevention and deterrence of crime." Meanwhile, $1.4 billion will go to the penal system, $122 million to the new gendarmarie police force, and $231 million to the intelligence services. Some $382 million will be distributed to states, municipalities, and the Federal District for public security.
The growth in the security budget for 2014 represents only a small increase over the projected inflation rate of 3 percent for next year, reported El Economista. Read more
Feb 10, 2012
Human Rights and the Drug War: Mexico Defense Minister says Public Security 'Overrun'
InSight Crime: "At a military ceremony yesterday, Mexican Defense Minister Guillermo Galvan Galvan addressed the national security situation in the country, pessimistically describing it in stark terms. “Clearly, in some sectors of the country the public security situation is completely overrun,” said Galvan, adding that “it should be recognized that national security is seriously threatened.” He went on to say that organized crime in the country has managed to penetrate not only society, but also the country’s state institutions." read more
Jan 19, 2012
U.S.-Mexico Drug War Strategy: Calderón Meets with CIA Director to Discuss the Security Agenda
Justice in Mexico: "President Felipe Calderón met in private today with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director, General David Petraeus, U.S. ambassador in Mexico, Anthony Wayne, Nobel Prize economist, Nouriel Roubini and members of his security cabinet. The meeting took place at the presidential residence in Los Pinos and focused on the security agenda between the two countries.
According to a statement issued from the Office of the President, Calderón and Petraeus discussed “different topics in the bilateral agenda and agreed to continue strengthening ties in the area, driven by both governments.”" read more
According to a statement issued from the Office of the President, Calderón and Petraeus discussed “different topics in the bilateral agenda and agreed to continue strengthening ties in the area, driven by both governments.”" read more
Jan 10, 2012
Border Security: Answers to the Border Drone Numbers Game
Border Lines: "CBP has answers to the apparent inconsistencies and errors that I have pointed out in previous postings. In response to a request to clarify the confusing and ostensibly errant numbers, CBP warned “it would be unfair to categorize UAS [unmanned aerials systems] by only using drug interdiction or border crossing metrics.”
Yes, ideally CBP would measure progress in securing the homeland by achievements by other measures, such as its role in countering terrorism and keeping the homeland secure – whatever that means." read more
Yes, ideally CBP would measure progress in securing the homeland by achievements by other measures, such as its role in countering terrorism and keeping the homeland secure – whatever that means." read more
Jan 5, 2012
U.S.-Mexico Relations: Mexican Congress asks Ministry of Foreign Affairs to oppose U.S. defense law for violating the presumption of innocence
From a U.S. point of view, it may seem presumptuous for the Mexican Congress to be concerned about the U.S. violating the rights of Mexicans, but given the U.S. government's merging of immigration, the war on drugs and border security under the rubric of "national security" and defense against "terrorists," this concern is not so far fetched.
Translated by MexicoBlog
Dec 9, 2011
U.S. and the Drug War in Mexico: Why Should We Care About Mexico?
CIP Americas: "From a neighbor and a trade partner, Mexico is now portrayed as a threat to U.S. national security. From the hype on spill-over violence from the drug war (statistically false), to warnings of a “failed state” (also inaccurate), to statements that Mexican drug cartels not only seek to take over the Mexican government but also infiltrate and undermine the United States (a complete invention), alarmist and economically motivated rants have supplanted policy-making based on facts." read more
MexicoBlog Editorial: U.S. Drug Warriors Continue Delusional Arrogance
This past week the prominant story about the drug war was the New York Times revelation that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the Justice Department was actively participating in helping Mexican drug cartels launder millions of dollars, including transporting it via government airplanes back to banks in the U.S..
The actions of the DEA are all too like those of its fellow Justice Department agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in the "Fast and Furious gun walking" escapade, for which Attorney General Holder was again apologizing to Congress this week. The Times reported that some former D.E.A. officials "rejected comparisons between letting guns and money walk away. Money, they said, poses far less of a threat to public safety."
Far less threat? It not only pays for the guns, it is the life blood for which the cartels violently battle! The comment also says nothing about the U.S. banks that are taking the money.
When asked about all of this by the Mexican newspaper, La Jornada, Todd Robinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (which oversees the Merida Initiative), said the authorities in his country and Mexico "will use every tool we can to combat organized crime and narcotics trafficking."
This bespeaks the continuing arrogance and blindness of the U.S. government in waging the so-called "war on drugs." The Obama administration--as evidenced by these attempted "stings" that involve major collusions with the "enemy"--continues this forty-year-old, delusional "war" strategy. It is based on a cops-and-robbers mentality that begins by defining the sale and consumption of certain drugs as outside the law. The "cops" then go after the "outlaws" with "every tool" they can devise, including collusion.
President Obama expressed this mentality most clearly in his July 19 announcement of his administration's Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. He stated, "... this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security..." As a "national security strategy," great emphasis is placed on "intellligence gathering," aka spies.
As both Fast and Furious and this latest money laundering tactic demonstrate, these spy "tools" include any means conceivable. Meanwhile the government continues to deny that the root of the problem lies in its making the consumption and use of these drugs illegal. Without the illegality, there would be no "robbers" and, thus, no need for the "cops," aka the DEA, and its spy-thriller undercover agents.
The actions of the DEA are all too like those of its fellow Justice Department agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in the "Fast and Furious gun walking" escapade, for which Attorney General Holder was again apologizing to Congress this week. The Times reported that some former D.E.A. officials "rejected comparisons between letting guns and money walk away. Money, they said, poses far less of a threat to public safety."
Far less threat? It not only pays for the guns, it is the life blood for which the cartels violently battle! The comment also says nothing about the U.S. banks that are taking the money.
When asked about all of this by the Mexican newspaper, La Jornada, Todd Robinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (which oversees the Merida Initiative), said the authorities in his country and Mexico "will use every tool we can to combat organized crime and narcotics trafficking."
This bespeaks the continuing arrogance and blindness of the U.S. government in waging the so-called "war on drugs." The Obama administration--as evidenced by these attempted "stings" that involve major collusions with the "enemy"--continues this forty-year-old, delusional "war" strategy. It is based on a cops-and-robbers mentality that begins by defining the sale and consumption of certain drugs as outside the law. The "cops" then go after the "outlaws" with "every tool" they can devise, including collusion.
President Obama expressed this mentality most clearly in his July 19 announcement of his administration's Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. He stated, "... this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security..." As a "national security strategy," great emphasis is placed on "intellligence gathering," aka spies.
As both Fast and Furious and this latest money laundering tactic demonstrate, these spy "tools" include any means conceivable. Meanwhile the government continues to deny that the root of the problem lies in its making the consumption and use of these drugs illegal. Without the illegality, there would be no "robbers" and, thus, no need for the "cops," aka the DEA, and its spy-thriller undercover agents.
Oct 26, 2011
Mexico Drug War - an Assessment: The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations
This research was done by the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND Corporation's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unitied Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. It used an expert elicitation exercise; i.e., a group of experts ... completed scorecard assessments of the contemporary Mexican security situation on three dimensions.
Rand Corporation: "... this monograph offers an assessment of the contemporary security situation in Mexico through the lens of existing RAND research on related issues. Specifically, we considered three strands of existing research: work on urban instability and unrest, the historical study of insurgency, and research on defense-sector reform.
Rand Corporation: "... this monograph offers an assessment of the contemporary security situation in Mexico through the lens of existing RAND research on related issues. Specifically, we considered three strands of existing research: work on urban instability and unrest, the historical study of insurgency, and research on defense-sector reform.
- The Urban Flashpoints Scorecard Shows That Mexican Border Cities Are Highly Vulnerable to Continued Unrest
- The Counterinsurgency Scorecard Places Mexico Between Historical Winners and Losers and Reveals That Contemporary Mexico Is Not Unlike the First Phase of Several Historical Insurgencies
- The Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool Indicates That the Ability to Control Corruption Is Perceived as Weak, as Are Mexico’s Policing Capabilities. " read more
Oct 25, 2011
Drug War Strategy: The Nontraditional, Traditional Drug Threat and Drug War
Border Lines: "The commander of the U.S. Southern Command warns that the U.S. is facing a “nontraditional threat” from the south in the form of “transnational organized crime.” Commander Douglas Fraser joined the chorus of military and administration officials warning of the new threat of transnational criminal organizations, and declared: “We’re trying to move our defense further and further from our border.”
Southcom’s relationship with nations in its region, the general added, “provides us with stability and security on our southern flank and that’s in our interest, [and] it improves the economic vitality of the region and our ability to trade with one another.”
It is not at all clear, however, that the U.S.-led drug war that Southcom has supported over the past four decades has been in the best interests of the region.
... There’s bipartisan support for escalating the drug war in the form of a new bill titled “Targeting Transnational Drug Traffic king Act of 2011” that expands the reach of the Justice Department in pursuing individuals who directly or indirectly involved in operations that export illegal drugs into the United States." read more
Southcom’s relationship with nations in its region, the general added, “provides us with stability and security on our southern flank and that’s in our interest, [and] it improves the economic vitality of the region and our ability to trade with one another.”
It is not at all clear, however, that the U.S.-led drug war that Southcom has supported over the past four decades has been in the best interests of the region.
... There’s bipartisan support for escalating the drug war in the form of a new bill titled “Targeting Transnational Drug Traffic king Act of 2011” that expands the reach of the Justice Department in pursuing individuals who directly or indirectly involved in operations that export illegal drugs into the United States." read more
Oct 18, 2011
Drug War: Regional Summit in Mexico Sets Agenda for Cooperation Against Crime
InSight Crime: "Police modernization, inter-agency cooperation and information sharing top the list of priorities for Mexico, Colombia, Central American countries and the Dominican Republic as they work to develop a regional strategy to confront the threat from organized crime.
Foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers from the participating countries gathered in the town of Tuxtla Gutierrez, southern Mexico, to finalize the agenda for November’s XIII Tuxtla Summit, where regional heads of state will formalize plans for a regional security strategy." read more
Foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers from the participating countries gathered in the town of Tuxtla Gutierrez, southern Mexico, to finalize the agenda for November’s XIII Tuxtla Summit, where regional heads of state will formalize plans for a regional security strategy." read more
Oct 17, 2011
Drug War - Merida Initiative: Emerging Threats and Security in the Americas
Testimony of William R. Brownfield, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, October 13, 2011
Latin American Herald Tribune -: ""Hemispheric security is a work in progress," says US Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield. "But the purpose that drives our engagement in support of our regional neighbors is one of critical importance that cannot be overstated. When credible law enforcement capacity and systems of justice are built, criminal information sharing, judicial cooperation, human rights, counternarcotics, and counter-terrorism programs can take hold. Where they are absent, transnational criminals operate with impunity, threatening the safety and security of our citizens at home and abroad. "" read more
Latin American Herald Tribune -: ""Hemispheric security is a work in progress," says US Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield. "But the purpose that drives our engagement in support of our regional neighbors is one of critical importance that cannot be overstated. When credible law enforcement capacity and systems of justice are built, criminal information sharing, judicial cooperation, human rights, counternarcotics, and counter-terrorism programs can take hold. Where they are absent, transnational criminals operate with impunity, threatening the safety and security of our citizens at home and abroad. "" read more
Oct 1, 2011
Drug War: Big Government Breaks Bad in Drug War
A critical review, from our colleague at the TransBorder Project, of the recently released "National Drug Threat Assessment" done by the Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center. See Americas MexicoBlog's assessment of this report. "Further Delusions of Power."
Border Lines: "In early September the National Drug Intelligence Center released its annual “National Drug Threat Assessment,” which warns: 'The illicit trafficking and abuse of drugs present a challenging, dynamic threat to the United States. Overall demand is rising, largely supplied by illicit drugs smuggled to U.S. markets by major transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).'
Border Lines: "In early September the National Drug Intelligence Center released its annual “National Drug Threat Assessment,” which warns: 'The illicit trafficking and abuse of drugs present a challenging, dynamic threat to the United States. Overall demand is rising, largely supplied by illicit drugs smuggled to U.S. markets by major transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).'
... What is more, according to this new intelligence assessment, the expanding U.S. demand for illegal drugs is being readily met by a new array of TCOs based in Mexico.(that) have emerged to meet the rising demand for illegal drugs in the United States — this despite the new drug war aid to Mexico and the dramatic increases in U.S. border security operations, including an major expansion of border counternarcotics operations of the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense.
Nowhere in this new threat assessment – or that can be found anywhere else in the federal drug war bureaucracy — is there any hint of any admission of failure or any recommendation that drug prohibition policies be reexamined."
Nowhere in this new threat assessment – or that can be found anywhere else in the federal drug war bureaucracy — is there any hint of any admission of failure or any recommendation that drug prohibition policies be reexamined."
Sep 27, 2011
The Border: U.S. Congress Still Wants “Operational Control” of Borders
The Pan-American Post: "Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security announced the approval of HR 2199, the “Secure Border Act of 2011.” The key mandate of the bill is to “achieve operational control of and achieve security at the international land borders of the United States.” The most important term here is “operational control.” As laid out by Congress in the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (pdf), the concept is defined as “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States.” As the 2011 bill reaffirms, Congress wants the Department of Homeland Security to essentially seal off the border.
So just how impossible is this task? "
So just how impossible is this task? "
Sep 25, 2011
The Border: For U.S.-Mexico border town, September 11 brought high wall
A look at how the creation of the Homeland Securiy Department after 9/11 changed life in a remote border town straddling the Arizona-Mexico border.
Reuters: " When news broke of the airliners striking the twin towers in New York 10 years ago, Mexican bookkeeper Jose Manuel Madrid was readying for work in his tiny hometown on the Arizona border. Watching the tragedy unfold on television, he had no inkling of how it would transform the lives of residents in the remote community of Naco straddling the international border. "Nobody imagined the repercussions ... that these events would have" for us, said Madrid, now the mayor of Naco, a dusty ranching town of 6,000 residents in Mexico's northern Sonora State.
The September 11 attacks, orchestrated by al Qaeda militants, led to the largest shake-up of the U.S. federal government since the Cold War, with the founding of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. As part of its core mission of preventing "terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States," the new Customs and Border Protection agency has since sharply boosted security on the nation's borders
The surge more than doubled the number of Border Patrol agents to 20,000. Infrastructure added to secure the Mexico border includes nearly 700 miles of additional fences as well as lights, sensors, cameras, ground radar and even unmanned surveillance drones."
Reuters: " When news broke of the airliners striking the twin towers in New York 10 years ago, Mexican bookkeeper Jose Manuel Madrid was readying for work in his tiny hometown on the Arizona border. Watching the tragedy unfold on television, he had no inkling of how it would transform the lives of residents in the remote community of Naco straddling the international border. "Nobody imagined the repercussions ... that these events would have" for us, said Madrid, now the mayor of Naco, a dusty ranching town of 6,000 residents in Mexico's northern Sonora State.
The September 11 attacks, orchestrated by al Qaeda militants, led to the largest shake-up of the U.S. federal government since the Cold War, with the founding of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. As part of its core mission of preventing "terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States," the new Customs and Border Protection agency has since sharply boosted security on the nation's borders
The surge more than doubled the number of Border Patrol agents to 20,000. Infrastructure added to secure the Mexico border includes nearly 700 miles of additional fences as well as lights, sensors, cameras, ground radar and even unmanned surveillance drones."
Sep 22, 2011
The Border: House panel OKs bill for funds to beef up border task forces
More pork from Rep. Henry Cuellar. See also. At War in Texas,
San Antonio Express-News: "A House committee approved legislation Wednesday that honors slain Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jaime Zapata and directs funding to law enforcement task forces on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill, the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act of 2011, would distribute $102 million to special law enforcement groups to crack down on organization crime that could create security threats along the border. Those teams currently operate under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, which would distribute funds.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the bill provides “families and those living on the border peace of mind in knowing that the federal government is doing its part in ensuring their safety.”
San Antonio Express-News: "A House committee approved legislation Wednesday that honors slain Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jaime Zapata and directs funding to law enforcement task forces on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill, the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act of 2011, would distribute $102 million to special law enforcement groups to crack down on organization crime that could create security threats along the border. Those teams currently operate under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, which would distribute funds.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the bill provides “families and those living on the border peace of mind in knowing that the federal government is doing its part in ensuring their safety.”
Sep 20, 2011
The Border: Half Mast at the Border
Border Lines: "If the buildup in border-security infrastructure is indeed improving security, then this should be evident in places such as Hudspeth County (Texas). In the past ten years, the county sheriff’s department has received millions of dollars in federal grants for border patrols. The number of Border Patrol agents stationed there has more than tripled. The checkpoint, now open day and night, counts on a full deployment of K-9 teams to aid inspections. And, of course, there’s the fence.
While there is certainly more control, more security operations in this swath of borderland, there is good reason to doubt that we are getting our money’s worth. Close up in Hudspeth County, border-security policy seems, at best, misdirected, at worst, pure folly characterized by escalating marijuana-user arrests, inter-agency tensions, opportunistic threat analysis, enormous waste, and ideological posturing. No terrorists have been apprehended."
While there is certainly more control, more security operations in this swath of borderland, there is good reason to doubt that we are getting our money’s worth. Close up in Hudspeth County, border-security policy seems, at best, misdirected, at worst, pure folly characterized by escalating marijuana-user arrests, inter-agency tensions, opportunistic threat analysis, enormous waste, and ideological posturing. No terrorists have been apprehended."
Sep 16, 2011
The Border: National Guard's use on border worrisome, feds report
azstarnet: "The lack of a comprehensive security strategy for the U.S.-Mexico border hampers the ability of the Department of Defense to make the best use of guardsmen assigned to help the Border Patrol, a federal report says. The new report by the Government Accountability Office also says defense officials are "concerned about 'mission creep' " because border security is not a core mission of the National Guard."
Sep 10, 2011
The Border: For U.S.-Mexico border town, September 11 brought high wall
Reuters: "(Reuters) - When news broke of the airliners striking the twin towers in New York 10 years ago, Mexican bookkeeper Jose Manuel Madrid was readying for work in his tiny hometown on the Arizona border.
Watching the tragedy unfold on television, he had no inkling of how it would transform the lives of residents in the remote community of Naco straddling the international border."
Watching the tragedy unfold on television, he had no inkling of how it would transform the lives of residents in the remote community of Naco straddling the international border."
Sep 2, 2011
The Border: Arizona legislative committee eyes private briefings on border from US officials
AP The Washington Post: " An Arizona legislative advisory committee assigned to make recommendations on improving security along the U.S.-Mexico border wants to hold private meetings with federal officials away from the Capitol. The move raises questions about whether the move would comply with the state’s open meeting law."
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