Mexico: Rights groups protest release of US anti-drug funds

Human rights groups criticised the decision by the U.S. Congress to release a portion of the funds for the Mérida Initiative–an anti-drug aid package–to Mexico despite concern over accusations that the army has committed serious human rights violations in the fight against drugs. "Unfortunately, the United States has consistently demonstrated that bilateral relations with certain countries matter much more than taking a position conducive to getting countries that receive military aid to respect human rights," Amnesty International special adviser Javier Zúñiga told IPS from London. Adrián Ramírez, director of the non-governmental Mexican League for the Defence of Human Rights, told IPS that "we are concerned that part of the U.S. Congress, which wanted to block the aid, was disdained in a somewhat political manner." At a forum Thursday on the Mérida Initiative, held in the northeastern city of Monterrey, John Feeley, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, reported that the Senate had authorised the release of 64 million dollars in aid against drug trafficking. The Mérida Initiative is a 1.4-billion-dollar, three-year regional aid package to help address the increasing violence and corruption of drug cartels in Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic. It was launched in 2008 by the administration of George W. Bush (2001-2009).