By Stephen Lendman

Global Research, May 27, 2008

It’s called “Plan Mexico,” or more formally the “Merida Initiative,” and here’s the scheme. It’s to do for Mexicans what Plan Colombia has done to that nation since 1999, and, in fact, much earlier. Since then, billions have gone for the following:

– to establish a US military foothold in the country;

– mostly to fund US weapons, chemical and other corporate profiteers; it’s a long-standing practice; in fact, a 1997 Pentagon document affirms that America’s military will “protect US interests and investments;” in Colombia, it’s to control its valuable resources; most importantly oil and natural gas but also coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, silver, emeralds, copper and more; it’s also to crush worker resistance, eliminate unions, target human rights and peasant opposition groups, and make the country a “free market” paradise inhospitable to people; (more…)

Here is the link to the public statement that the PHR (Physicians for Human Rights) made: http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/news-2008-05-23.html

Yet another entity, and one with access to evidence etc, does not believe the official story. We need to use every tool to keep pushing progressive U.S. based-organizations to heed this kind of report.

AI, HRW, WOLA et al - if they insist on sending U.S. taxpayer $ for “rule of law” etc, should be demanding some progress in cases first before sending money.

U.S. Congress should be funding a thorough investigation of the murders related to protests in Oaxaca - the PHR counts at least 18 - and the other murders of activists throughout Mexico by security forces or government-supported paramilitaries before considering giving lethal aid to corrupt security forces. - Rob

Physicians for Human Rights

May 23, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Forensic Evaluation Completed of Mexican Investigation of Brad Will Case
PHR Recommends a Thorough Investigation into US Journalist Brad Will’s Case and a Larger Inquiry into Pattern of Violence in Oaxaca
Media Contacts:

Nathaniel Raymond
nraymond@phrusa.org
Tel: (617) 301-4232; cell: (617) 413-6407

The International Forensic Program (IFP) of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) recommends a thorough and wider inquiry following its comprehensive forensic review of the ongoing investigation by Mexico’s Attorney General (Procuraduria General de la Republica-PGR) into the October, 2006 death of 36-year-old American Brad Will. Will, a video-journalist for Indymedia.org, died of gunshot wounds while covering violent protests in the state of Oaxaca. At issue in this case is whether Will was killed by bullets fired at close range from within the crowd of protestors, or from a greater distance by paramilitary forces. At least 17 other reported deaths related to protests in Oaxaca since 1996 remain unresolved.

The PHR review indicates shortcomings in efforts to locate all firearms in the possession of police, paramilitaries, and others who were present at the scene; a singular focus by Mexican authorities on a working hypothesis that the gunshots originated from Will’s immediate surroundings; and failure to investigate other instances of injuries or deaths in Oaxaca that might reveal a pattern of violence leading to the perpetrator(s). (more…)

“IF U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WERE LOSING THEIR FINEST AT SUCH A RATE, YOU CAN BET AMERICANS WOULD GIVE GREATER THOUGHT TO THE VIOLENCE GENERATED BY HIGH DEMAND AND PROHIBITION. OUR FRIENDS IN MEXICO DESERVE EQUAL CONSIDERATION.”

THE U.S. ROLE IN A MEXICO ASSASSINATION

By MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY
The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2008

Stories of campus drug use in the U.S. are so common that last week’s
arrest of 75 alleged dealers at San Diego State University was shocking
chiefly due to the number netted. The occasional big bust aside, the long
running drug war has become almost background noise. At least in this
country.

American nonchalance about drug use stands in sharp contrast to what is
happening across the border in Mexico. There lawmen are taking heavy
casualties in a showdown with drug-running crime syndicates. On Thursday
the chief of the Mexican federal police, Edgar Millán Gómez, was
assassinated by men waiting for him when he came home, becoming the latest
and most prominent victim of the syndicates. (more…)

Will the Democratic Majority (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Wexler, Barbara Lee, Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Joseph Crowley and company) betray democracy in Mexico? Or will they challenge the Bush Administration’s militarization plan for Mexico under the guise of the ‘war on drugs’?

You can help prevent the slide towards authoritarianism in Mexico by demanding the Democratic Congress with many Republican allies reject the Merida Initiative!

Here’s a copy of the bill:
hr6028-merida-foreign-ops-aut0

Check current status

There’s a push to promote ‘human rights safeguards’ as a solution which some D.C.-based human rights groups are supporting. We should not be fooled given the experience of Colombia. We don’t have amnesia on an international scale.

The best safeguard for human rights is to demand respect for them - an end to impunity as shown through prosecutions of those responsible for pending cases of human rights violations, like the murder of Brad Will - as a condition BEFORE any lethal aid is given to the security forces of Mexico.

Why is it that labor organizations like the AFL-CIO can say this but some mainstream ‘human rights’ organizations talk about their serious concerns while offering ineffective protection to the Mexican people (likely activists) who would suffer at the hands of U.S.-supplied - armed and trained - Mexican security forces?

Immediate Release ********************** May 13th, 2008

Left and Right Unite to Oppose Mexico Foreign Policy Scheme

Amnesty International Joins Opposition to Bush’s Merida Initiative

Contact:
NYC: Robert Jereski, 212-973-1782
Washington, DC: Harry Bubbins, 646 641 5788

Opposition to the President’s ebbing “Merida Initiative” scheme to give $1.4 Billion in military aid to Mexico’s police and military implicated in widespread human rights violations grew with Amnesty International issuing a statement to Congress.

“Aid for Mexico must not be a blank check for Mexican security forces that have been implicated in crimes like rape and torture,” said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). Amnesty International said that any initiative to support Mexico’s fight against drug cartels and organized crime must focus on the rule of law and should also press for justice in the unresolved killing of U.S. journalist Bradley Roland Will, and other civilians, in Oaxaca in 2006.

“We are encouraged by Amnesty International’s recognition of human rights abuses by Mexican forces,” said Robert Jereski of Friends of Brad Will. “But we hope for more from human rights organizations, especially when top labor unions reject this dangerous scheme outright.” (more…)

Top News:
GOP: Merida plan likely to fail in House

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/05/13/gop_merida_plan_likely_to_fail_in_house/7239/

WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) — Ranking Republicans predict a $500 million measure to combat drug violence in Latin America will fail when the House votes on it Wednesday.

GOP lawmakers told the Washington Times they did not think the so-called Merida Initiative, named after the historic Mexican city in the Yucatan, would pass because it had been glommed on to a supplemental funding bill for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The supplemental spending bill is the not the appropriate vehicle for this particular funding initiative,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Some Republicans added that they had doubts about the effectiveness of the plan on the assumption that Mexican law-enforcement agencies were riddled with corruption and would undermine the Merida program.

The Times said Mexico has been urging passage of the plan, which would improve coordination of anti-drug efforts among the United States, Mexico and nations in Central America.

From: Natalia Cardona
Peacebuilding Unit
Latin America & Caribbean Program
American Friends Service Committee
Philadelphia, PA
19102

ANOTHER TRADE AND WAR CONNECTION IN THE AMERICAS
The Americas Policy Program has put together and excellent Primer on Plan Mexico. The report written by Laura Carlsen puts forward detailed analysis regarding the policy, its background and what needs to change. This policy as part of the expansion of NAFTA is a clear connection to what we have been talking about for the past few years on this site, mainly that trade and war are companion policies. Just as Plan Colombia is a failed policy which is now accompanied by an unjust trade agreement so are Plan Mexico and the expansion of NAFTA. Click here to read a summary of the Primer and link to the entire document.

URGENT ACTION: NO MORE FUNDING FOR WAR!
Congress is preparing to vote on the Iraq Supplemental. The vote is scheduled for next Thursday (May 15, 2008). A new drug war policy known as the Merida Initiative is being put forward as part of this package. The policy nicknamed Plan Mexico for its similarities to Plan Colombia will provide $1.4 billion to the corrupt Mexican military, its police and U.S. contractors. It will also significantly increase military aid to Central America. This initiative is part and parcel of NAFTA expansion and is based on the same failed drug war model that Plan Colombia was built on. While Mexico is not a country at war there are certain lessons that can be learnt from the failures of Plan Colombia. We encourage you to call on your representatives and tell them to stop funding for this fatal policy. Click here to make your voice heard. Click here to make your voice heard.

JOIN ONE OF THESE DELEGATIONS TO COLOMBIA

A Raw Trade, June 12-23, Application Deadline: May 19
Join Witness for Peace and visit farmers and union leaders who are resisting this trade agreement, see the impact of U.S supported fumigations, and plan actions in solidarity with Colombians. Click here for more about this delegation.

Building Justice Across Borders, August 2-16, Application Deadline: June 20. Join the Fellowship of Reconciliation on a powerful delegation to visit communities and organizations that struggle for the right to say no to armed conflict and are creating peace and justice from the grassroots up. Click here for more about this delegation.

Natalia Cardona
Peacebuilding Unit
Latin America & Caribbean Program
American Friends Service Committee
Philadelphia, PA
19102
Tel: (215) 241-7162
Fax: (215) 241-7177
www.afsc.org/colombia
www.tradeandwar.org

Congress Holds 3rd Hearing on Mexico Foreign Policy Scheme
Opposition growing to Bush’s Proposed “Merida Initiative”

Will the Democratic Party and inside-the-beltway human rights organizations remain silent about its dangers?

(May 8, New York/Maryland) Opposition to the President’s ebbing “Merida Initiative”, a scheme to give $1.4 Billion in military aid to Mexico’s police and military forces implicated in widespread human rights violations, has led to an extraordinary 3rd oversight hearing by Congress. On May 1st, the AFL-CIO, the powerful U.S. parent union, sent letters detailing their opposition and warning of the dangers of the pact to Democratic Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman and to Congressman Delahunt Chair of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, urging them to reject the Bush Administration’s request for military aid to Mexico. Yet critics questioned the witnesses Congress has called to testify on the Bush “security” plan as being uncritical boosters or vaguely indicating support under a pretense of concern and questions. Not a single opponent of the Merida Initiative has been called to testify.

“Labor organizations like the AFL-CIO and the US Steelworkers have demanded that Congress not fund this “Plan Mexico”, said Robert Jereski of Friends of Brad Will, likening it to the notorious failures of “Plan Colombia”. “We are extremely disappointed that a few inside the beltway human rights organizations have yet to issue statements against it.” Jereski went on to single out the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) (more…)

Opposition in Mexico. Including within the Mexican military, academia and the diplomatic corp.

On behalf of ten million working men and women of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Director of the International Department of the AFL-CIO, urges Congressmembers Berman and Delahunt to oppose the Merida Initiative funding for FY 08 and FY 09!

Read her excellent letters to Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Congressman Berman (D-California) and to Congressman Delahunt (D-Massachusetts) telling them “to oppose the Administration’s funding request.”

We’ve been urging Congressman Berman, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to hold hearings (as has the United Steelworkers and many others) to counter the Bush Administration’s boosters who have been the exclusive invitees to past “congressional oversight hearings”. The reasoned voice of opponents to the bill - including the United Steelworkers, Witness for Peace, Global Exchange and many other organizations and individuals in the U.S. and Mexico - have provided cogent arguments against the Bush ’security’ initiative, even with “human rights certification” warning that Plan Mexico (as the Merida Initiative is called) would:

- arm unaccountable, corrupt and brutal military and police;
- contribute to the erosion of civil liberties in one of our largest trading partners, Mexico;
- increase violence and instability in Mexico;
- waste U.S. taxpayer money.

Is the Democratic Majority Congress unwilling to listen to us? Are they partners with Bush (and Mukasey and Gates) to ignore impunity by the Mexican security forces and the glaring absence of a a real plan to ensure that the above predictable impacts of a military aid package are avoided?