Plan Mexico Passed

[subsuelo]

(bolded text is mine)

It's official: Congress has approved Plan Mexico.

The House of Representatives approved the Merida Initiative, also known as Plan Mexico, last week by a vote of 256-166. Excelsior reports that 244 Democrats and 32 Republicans voted for the bill and 7 democrats and 159 Republicans voted against it. The Senate approved a slightly different version today, although the specifics of the Senate version are still unavailable.

Plan Mexico will provide resources, equipment, and training to the Mexican government, police, and military. It will not give Mexico liquid funds. The US military, government agencies such as USAID, and US defense contractors such as mercenary firms and weapons manufacturers will receive funding to carry out Plan Mexico, Plan Mexico is yet another bill to line the pockets of the military industrial complex.

As passed by the House, Plan Mexico will provide $116.5 million over the next two years for training and equipment for the Mexican military, and for "strengthening of military-to-military cooperation between the United States and Mexico." Bush's request included eight helicopters and two airplanes for the Mexico military. While funding in this area was cut, Mexico can still expect a couple of new helicopters and/or airplanes.

While Plan Mexico specifically targets drug cartels, the initiative's counterpart in Colombia, Plan Colombia, demonstrates that drug war equipment and training will inevitably be used against activists and insurgent organizations. Mexico has already demonstrated its propensity to use deadly drug war equipment donated by the US against insurgents and civilians. Following the Zapatista uprising in 1994, the Mexican military strafed Chiapan indigenous communities using helicopters donated by the US to combat drug trafficking and production.

NarcoNews - read more

[Judi Lynn]

1. Mexico was ALREADY death to dissidents, and was already getting assistance from

U.S. right-wing Presidents and the C.I.A. long ago, to help crack down on leftists.

This is not so hot, is it?

_Bush uncoils new levels of dirty, destructive criminality every single day. The very idea he'd take on this born-in-hell project is overwhelmingly hideous.

It's going to take decades to straighten out the damage he's done.

Hope for Mexico to get the election results it votes for next time, with no vote sabotage.

[subsuelo]

2. What I don't understand is the lopsided Democratic support vs Rep opposition

"244 Democrats and 32 Republicans voted for the bill and 7 democrats and 159 Republicans voted against it"

wtf is that about?

:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

3. No kidding! That's just not logical. Hoping the numbers were reversed, or we're in real trouble.

You'd surely expect JUST THE OPPOSITE, wouldn't you?

It was a _Bush idea. Republicans would be the ones pushing it.

[Zorro]

4. Figures

You'd take the side of the Mexican narcotraffickers.