Washington DC.- The United States Congress endorsed this Friday for the second consecutive year a clause that establishes that none of the anti-crime aid funds that it will deliver to Mexico during 2023 be used to finance military projects involved in public security work.
Inserted in the massive Expenditure Law for Fiscal Year 2023 approved this Friday by the Lower House and which has already been endorsed by the Senate, the clause against militarization would limit granting US funds for projects of the Mexican National Guard, made up mainly of military personnel. .
“The Committee orders that none of the funds appropriated by this law and made available for assistance to Mexico be used to support military participation in law enforcement in Mexico,” says the text of the clause that had previously been included. in the Expenditure Law of the previous year.
“In addition, the Committee orders that the funds allocated by this Law and made available to support compliance with the law in Mexico must include support for effective internal and external control mechanisms,” adds the new Expenditure Law that seeks to promote accountability of counts.
Regarding the amount of bilateral aid that will be delivered to Mexico for Fiscal Year 2023, the text of the new Expenditure Law does not establish an exact figure but states that it will be an amount comparable to that of past years; During Fiscal Year 2022, the US provided $158 million in aid to Mexico.
“The agreement includes assistance for Mexico proportional to previous fiscal years,” says the Law.
Among the priority projects in Mexico for the US Congress are financing projects to protect human rights, to identify missing persons, to improve forensic capacity, and the training of officials to combat criminal groups and against money laundering.
Since Fiscal Year 2008, with the start of the so-called Merida Initiative, the US government has granted an accumulated total of 3.5 billion dollars for various anti-crime projects that include police training, support for civil society, and purchase of equipment and technology. .
Despite the rhetoric of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against the receipt of anti-crime funds from the US, both the Trump Administration and the Biden Administration have continued to fund support to support the rule of law, including training state police officers.
In the new 2023 Expenditure Law approved this Friday, the Capitol also demanded that the Biden Administration this Friday deliver a report on the so-called Bicentennial Understanding, the bilateral anti-crime agreement negotiated by the Government of López Obrador and that replaced the Mérida Initiative in 2021.
