Mexican Navy to Participate in First Joint Exercise with U.S.
In a press conference yesterday with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that for the first time, the Mexican military is going to take part in a joint military exercise with the United States. According to General Cartwright, a meeting with his counterparts in the Mexican military last week resulted in a decision to "start to cooperate in ways that we have not done in the past, both at the service level, for training, and then at the operational level, with the Commander of NORTHCOM, for support in the drug conflicts that they're working their way through, but also for general support in their ability to defend their country." Mexican news sources such as Proceso and El Universal also ran stories reporting on this "first." However, according to El Universal "Mexico's Senate has not authorized Mexican troops to participate in the exercises yet. The upper house (Senate) plans to vote next Tuesday - in the Committees on the Marines and Foreign Relations - on the request that the Navy participates. To be approved, the request must still be taken to full vote." The joint military exercise that Mexico will most likely be participating in from April 19 - May 7 is UNITAS 50-09, "in which the U.S. Navy and our partner nation navies train together to enhance interoperability and Theater Security Cooperation", according to U.S. Southern Command. Other countries' navies will also be participating, including those of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. While news sources and General Cartwright make this appear to be a recent decision, a Southcom press release from November 2008 already listed Mexico as a participant in UNITAS 50-09. In the past, for example in the PANAMAX 2008 training exercise last August, Mexico has participated in joint exercises only as observers. This April will be the first time Mexico will actually take an active role. And as General Cartwright expressed, more cooperation between the U.S. and the Mexican military in the near future is likely. UNITAS is being viewed as a first step.