Fate of US-Mexico agreement on border security, war on drugs unclear

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By CGTN's Franc Contreras

The Presidents of Mexico and the US will meet for the first time at this week’s G20 summit. Their relationship has been rocky since Donald Trump pledged to build a wall between the two neighbors to stem the flow of illegal migration to the US – a mega-structure which Mexico will be forced to pay for, according to Trump – and called for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

With so many uncertainties engulfing Trump's relation with Enrique Pena Nieto, an additional concern – about the fate of an agreement that governs border security – is added ahead of their meeting.

Both countries have a joint framework for confronting drug trafficking organizations in Mexico that send drugs to the United States. The same framework has guided border security between the two nations for the past 10 years.

November 14, 2008: US President George W. Bush (R) greets Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of Mexico, to the White House at the start of the G20 Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in Washington. /VCG Photo

It’s called the Merida Initiative – an agreement signed by then Presidents George W. Bush and Felipe Calderon in 2007.

Since then, the US has spent some 2.5 billion US dollars supporting Mexico and Merida, including funds to train Mexican security forces and the purchase of expensive attack helicopters.

“The US and Mexican governments assumed that security was a problem they shared,” security analyst Jaime Lopez Aranda said. “Not just the issues of drug trafficking and the border, but all aspects of regional security.”

CGTN Photo

During the administration of Barack Obama, the US Congress conditioned the funding on improving human rights and rule of law in Mexico.

With the NAFTA on the negotiating table, security experts in Mexico would like to see a full re-examination of the Merida Initiative and a careful look of all aspects of the bilateral relationship on the issue of regional security.

One decade into Merida, Mexican security analyst Carlos Heredia said violent crimes and corruption continue, and the demand for illegal drugs remains high in the US.

“The best way for the US and Mexico to cooperate would be to end the war on drugs, and switch to a policy that prioritizes security for citizens, their families and their properties,” Heredia said.

So far, there are only questions – about what will become of the Merida Initiative in the months and years to come – though there are sure to be changes, as the relationship between Trump and Nieto continues to evolve.