Washington Should Share Responsibility and Help End Mexico's Insecurity Miguel Guevara - Al Jazeera
go to original April 11, 2015

Relatives of the 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa hold their portraits during a march commemorating their disappearance in Mexico City. (Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images)

Six months ago, police in Iguala, a small town 100 miles south of Mexico City, killed three students from a teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa. The officers then kidnapped 43 other students and handed them over to a drug cartel. The fate of the missing students is unclear to this day.

Mexican authorities should be held accountable for the students’ deaths and disappearance. But the U.S. must also accept its share of responsibility. Over the last decade, Washington spent more than $3 billion on training and equipment for Mexican security forces. It has allowed guns to fall in the hands of criminal gangs. Mexico’s stability and democracy have been shaken by the ongoing violence, some of which is fueled by U.S. involvement. The instability poses a serious security threat to the United States. To prevent further bloodshed and end impunity for human rights abuses, the U.S. must rethink its investments in Mexico.

...President Barack Obama has pledged to maintain support for what he called Mexico’s “efforts to eliminate the scourge of violence.” But the underlying U.S. strategy to support Mexico, which consists mainly of military aid, is flawed. More aid to Mexico to buy additional weapons will only fuel more violence.

...Most of the U.S. aid to Mexico is directed to security services. There are no indications that this will change anytime soon. In fact, the U.S. plans to invest $140 million in Mexico in the next fiscal year. Nearly $90 million of that is earmarked for security forces. This shortsighted strategy has been around for almost 10 years. It is time for U.S. policymakers to consider strengthening Mexican independent institutions, including the judicial system and local human rights commissions.

If history is any guide, building strong institutions is the only viable long-term solution to Mexico’s violence and instability.

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

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