Mexico to surpass Colombia as the #1 recipient of U.S. aid in Latin America
One month ago, we posted an entry comparing the Senate and House versions of the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill. The two versions of the bill were significantly different, especially in terms of additional funding allocated to Mexico under the Mérida Initiative. While the Senate only proposed an additional $66 million for the purchase of three Black Hawk helicopters, the House proposed an additional $470 million from both the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and Foreign Military Financing accounts. Since both versions were passed, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees have put together a Conference Report, indicating how they have reconciled differences in the two houses' bills. The House passed the new conference report last night, and has now been sent to the Senate side for approval (which will most likely occur sometime this week). The Conference Report reflects the House version more than the Senate version, allocating at least $420 million in additional military assistance to Mexico for 2009. 
With this additional FY2009 aid for Mexico, the country will immediately step in front of Colombia as the region's #1 U.S. aid recipient - with the $883 million allocated to Mexico for 2009 surpassing Colombia's $663 million in both military/police and economic/social aid. In military and police assistance alone, Mexico will receive approximately $832 million, almost double the $420 million in military and police aid allocated to Colombia in 2009. This increase is not only significant in that Mexico is receiving such a high amount of military and police assistance this year, but it is even more significant in that it indicates the first time since Just the Facts started monitoring aid in 1996 that Colombia is not the number one recipient of military and police aid in the region. 
As military and police aid to Colombia continues to follow a downward trend, and assistance to Mexico continues to rise, it will be increasingly important that the way in which it is allocated is closely monitored to make sure it is not being given to police or military units accused of corruption or human rights violations, or spent on a model that gives the armed forces inappropriate new roles while having little impact on narcotrafficking and related violence. If Mexico receives the $481 million requested in the FY2010 Congressional Budget Justification, total aid to Mexico in the 2008-2010 period would surpass, by over $200 million, the $1.4 billion requested by the Bush Administration in the original Mérida Initiative package. More details on aid to Mexico in the 2009 Supplemental conference report: International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INCLE) In the Conference Report, Mexico will receive "not less than $160,000,000 ... to combat drug trafficking and related violence and organized crime, and for judicial reform, institution building, anti-corruption, and rule of law activities." Although the Conference Report does not specify how this aid will be spent, the allocation is likely to follow the amounts specified in the House version - since the amount is the same - which would include $66 million for three Black Hawk helicopters and $94 million for "such items as forensics and nonintrusive inspection equipment, computers, training and fixed and rotary wing aircraft." While the House version of this bill attempted to remove the human rights conditions placed on aid to Mexico in the annual foreign aid budget bill passed in February (part of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, or division H or Public Law 111-8), it appears that the Senate was able to conserve these conditions and also require that a report be submitted by the Secretary of State within 45 days after the enactment of the Supplemental "detailing actions taken by the Government of Mexico since June 30, 2008, to investigate, prosecute, and punish violations of internationally recognized human rights by members of the Mexican Federal police and military forces, and to support a thorough, independent, and credible investigation of the murder of American citizen Bradley Roland Will." Foreign Military Financing (FMF) The Conference Report allocates "not less than $260,000,000 shall be made available for assistance for the Mexican Navy" from the FMF account. Therefore the only security force in Mexico to receive this FMF allocated funding will be the Mexican Navy. This could include three surveillance planes (CASA 235) and an undisclosed number of Sea Hawk medium lift maritime transport helicopters (HH-60), again, the items that appeared in the House version of the bill. The House did manage to remove the human rights conditions from the FMF funding and also removed any conditions under section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act. According to the Conference report this language is included "to ensure the expeditious delivery of such equipment."