[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
THE MERIDA INITIATIVE: EXAMINING UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO COMBAT
TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARITIME,
AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JUNE 5, 2008
__________
Serial No. 110-120
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Loretta Sanchez, California Peter T. King, New York
Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Lamar Smith, Texas
Norman D. Dicks, Washington Christopher Shays, Connecticut
Jane Harman, California Mark E. Souder, Indiana
Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon Tom Davis, Virginia
Nita M. Lowey, New York Daniel E. Lungren, California
Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Mike Rogers, Alabama
Columbia David G. Reichert, Washington
Zoe Lofgren, California Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Charles W. Dent, Pennsylvania
Donna M. Christensen, U.S. Virgin Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida
Islands Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida
Bob Etheridge, North Carolina David Davis, Tennessee
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Paul C. Broun, Georgia
Henry Cuellar, Texas Candice S. Miller, Michigan
Christopher P. Carney, Pennsylvania
Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Al Green, Texas
Ed Perlmutter, Colorado
Bill Pascrell, Jr., New Jersey
Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Staff Director & General Counsel
Rosaline Cohen, Chief Counsel
Michael Twinchek, Chief Clerk
Robert O'Connor, Minority Staff Director
______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARITIME, AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California, Chairwoman
Jane Harman, California Mark E. Souder, Indiana
Zoe Lofgren, California David G. Reichert, Washington
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Michael T. McCaul, Texas
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida
Henry Cuellar, Texas Mike Rogers, Alabama
Al Green, Texas Peter T. King, New York (Ex
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (Ex Officio)
Officio)
Alison Rosso, Director
Denise Krepp, Counsel
Carla Zamudio-Dolan, Clerk
Mandy Bowers, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
(II)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements
The Honorable Loretta Sanchez, a Representative in Congress From
the State of California, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.................. 1
The Honorable Mark E. Souder, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Indiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.................. 2
Witnesses
Mr. Paul Rosenzweig, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of
International Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Policy, Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 4
Prepared Statement............................................. 6
Mr. David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs:
Oral Statement................................................. 13
Prepared Statement............................................. 14
Appendix
Questions From Honorable Loretta Sanchez......................... 35
THE MERIDA INITIATIVE: EXAMINING UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRANS-
NATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
----------
Thursday, June 5, 2008
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global
Counterterrorism,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:13 a.m., in
Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Loretta Sanchez
[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Sanchez, Lofgren, Langevin,
Cuellar, Green, Souder, Reichert, and McCaul.
Ms. Sanchez. The subcommittee will come to order. The
subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on the
``Merida Initiative, Examining U.S. Efforts to Combat
Transnational Criminal Organizations.'' It is my pleasure to
welcome you all to this timely hearing on the recent
developments in combating transnational organized crime.
This hearing will give us a forum to examine the efforts,
goals and the possible implementation of the Merida Initiative
and its role in reducing crime and drug trafficking in Mexico
and in Central America. I look forward to receiving testimony
from our two witnesses, hearing what their departments are
doing with respect to the rise of transnational crime and their
role in the Merida Initiative.
Recently, the United States has seen a rise in the
operations of sophisticated crime organizations that have
little regard for law enforcement and for our border officials.
We have seen this trend across the country, including in my
district in Orange County, California. More often than not,
these organizations maintain ties and structured operations in
multiple countries. With the increase of violence from drug
cartels on the Mexican side of the border in places like
Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, it is appropriate to be concerned
about how this is affecting our citizens here in the United
States.
Many drug cartels contract out to transnational gangs such
as Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street Gang to smuggle drugs
and people into the United States and to smuggle weapons and
ammunition out of the United States. These smuggling operations
work through an intricate network of corrupt officers and
secure smuggling routes on both sides of our border.
The Merida Initiative proposal was developed to stop these
operations by implementing comprehensive cross-border
communication and collaboration. Interagency cooperation among
and inclusion of all agencies that work on our borders and with
foreign governments is essential for the success of this
proposal.
Our area of particular concern is ensuring that gang and
drug cartel members who are deported from the United States do
not continue their criminal behavior once they return to their
home countries or worse, that they come back once again into
the United States to continue their work.
We must be able to coordinate with foreign authorities to
ensure that these criminals are not allowed to go back into
their local populations. We also need to prevent them from
organizing further criminal efforts with their cartel
counterparts in the United States.
Coordination from multiple agencies in both countries is
essential to achieving these goals and it must not be
overlooked. A concern that this subcommittee has is the
exclusion of the Department of Homeland Security from many
important faces of the Merida Initiative. Violence in Central
America and Mexico affects the safety and the security of the
United States, and the Department of Homeland Security has
personnel and equipment that can be a resource both on the
front lines on the United States border and in coordinating
with local levels in these foreign countries.
This committee would like to see a commitment from all
involved agencies that communication and collaboration are and
will continue to be on the forefront of this initiative.
Once again, I thank our witnesses for being here today. I
look forward to your testimony and to receiving your answers to
Members' questions. I will now yield to my Ranking Member, my
good friend from Indiana, Mr. Souder, for his opening
statement. Thank you.
Mr. Souder. Thank you, Madam Chair. In 2007, over 36,000
pounds of cocaine, 2,906 pounds of meth and 2.4 million pounds
of marijuana were seized along the southwest border at our
ports of entry by the border patrol. In fact, just 2 weeks ago,
one of the biggest busts in Indiana history was made in my
district, came across at Laredo. There is a crisis at our
borders. It is critical that the United States move forward
without haste to gain control of our borders, to deter, detect
and respond to all illegal activity.
The consequences of the continued vulnerability along the
border are clearly evident in the violence, crime and drug-
related death rates throughout the United States. In an effort
to address this growing threat, the administration proposed an
aid package to Mexico and Central America in October 2007
referred to as the Merida Initiative.
The Department of Homeland Security will play a critical
role in carrying out the Merida Initiative, and I was pleased
to learn that Chairman Thompson placed a request with the
Speaker for the Committee on Homeland Security to have
sequential referral on the Merida Initiative authorizing
legislation moving through Congress, H.R. 6028. I believe this
is an issue that the committee can work together to enhance
this bipartisan legislation. While I believe that there is much
more work that needs to be done to secure our borders, I think
that the Merida Initiative offers an historical opportunity to
partner with Mexico and Central America and to work together on
securing the region from drug traffickers.
Since 9/11 we have spoken about the need to push our
borders out and to look for opportunities to detect threats
before they reach the United States. The Merida Initiative is
part of that philosophy and with appropriate controls and
oversight, could be a significant force multiplier in the
counternarcotics fight and assist in securing the borders.
I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today. I
look forward to hearing from the Departments of State and
Homeland Security on what they hope to achieve through Merida
and how the progress will be monitored and how the partnership
can help bolster security, especially in Mexico, at a time when
violence directed at law enforcement is at an all-time high. I
am especially interested in gaining better understanding of how
DHS is involved in Merida and what impact this will have on
resources. While I am excited to discuss the Merida Initiative,
we must understand that Merida alone will not secure our
border. We must continue to provide adequate resources and
enforcement tools to U.S. law enforcement agencies while
working hard to secure our homeland.
To that end, I look forward to participating next week with
my partner Mr. Cuellar to the rollout of the ICE Operation
Armas Cruzadas to address cross-border weapons smuggling. These
guns often end up in the hands of the drug cartels, elevating
the level of violence along the border and within Mexico. I
would like to take a moment to express appreciation for the
actions taken in Mexico by the Calderon administration over the
past 18 months to disrupt drug trafficking organizations and
corruption.
Often Mexico only gets criticism it seems in the United
States and it is important that we praise the initiatives of
the Calderon administration. Since President Calderon entered
office in 2006, Mexico has allocated more than $6.5 billion to
combat drug trafficking and increase public security. What is
really important politically for Americans to understand is it
is largely our drug problems that have caused the violence in
Mexico and I am really pleased that the Mexican government have
taken these risks and taken this leadership to try to address
it as it transits through Mexico headed to the United States.
In 2007, Mexico seized a record 50.7 tons of cocaine worth
more than $7.6 billion in street value. In addition, Mexico has
extradited a record 93 criminals to the United States since
January 2007 including three drugpins and a former Mexican
Governor. These successes have sparked an increase in border
violence as smugglers have become more desperate in their
attempt to smuggle these narcotics that are moving through
Mexico and coming into the United States. Also, it is important
that we recognize the sacrifice of Mexico's law enforcement
officers, military personnel and the citizens of Mexico who
continue to be targeted by ruthless drug trafficking
organizations.
More than 400 military and law enforcement officers and
2,650 civilians have been killed in drug-related murders. We
are also seeing an alarming increase in violence targeted at
U.S. law enforcement along the border. By lateral cooperation,
the war on drugs is at an all-time high. The Merida Initiative
may be the best way to strengthen the relationship with our
regional partners. I look forward to working and hearing from
our witnesses about how the Merida Initiative will help secure
our borders and reduce illegal drugs entering into our country.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. Other members of the subcommittee are reminded
that under committee rules, opening statements may be submitted
for the record. Now I welcome our panel of witnesses. Our first
witness, Mr. Paul Rosenzweig serves as Acting Assistant
Secretary for International Affairs and Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. He
has previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy
Development and counselor to the Assistant Secretary for
Policy. Prior to joining the Department, he served as senior
legal research fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial
Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
Our second witness, Mr. David T. Johnson, was sworn in as
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs on October 31, 2007. Prior to this
appointment, he served as deputy chief of mission for the U.S.
Embassy in London from August 2003 until July 2007. Mr. Johnson
entered the foreign service in 1977. Without objection the
witnesses' full statements will be inserted into the record.
I will ask the witnesses to summarize their statements for
5 minutes beginning with Assistant Secretary Rosenzweig.
STATEMENT OF PAUL ROSENZWEIG, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, AND DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR POLICY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Rosenzweig. Thank you very much. It is indeed a great
pleasure to be before this committee today and it is an honor
to be here to able to articulate for you why the Department of
Homeland Security supports the Merida Initiative and to lay out
for you some of the unique competencies DHS brings to the table
for this important undertaking.
Before discussing the Merida Initiative, we must, I think,
begin by acknowledging the violent and dangerous backdrop to
this hearing. In Mexico, drug cartels are waging war. These
drug cartels kill with impunity killing not only members of
competing cartels, but also the police and military who protect
Mexican citizens from crime and ensure a strong an economically
viable Mexico.
Parts of Central America have become a transit zone for
human, arms, money and narco traffickers. Transnational
criminal organizations take advantage of circumstances where
governments that may otherwise have the political will to
counter transnational criminal activity lack the resources to
do so. Neither this criminal phenomenon nor the violence that
follows recognizes borders. The United States suffers from gang
violence, crime and the trafficking of both people and
narcotics with causes and effects across the border.
This is further compounded by the fact that the same
activities used to fund criminal organizations and move
contraband can and may be used by terrorists to fund their
activities and to move dangerous weapons and people. Indeed,
the threat posed by transnational criminal organizations in
this region is as multifaceted and as dangerous as any this
Nation has faced. This regional violence has become a border
integrity issue, and the Merida Initiative is the U.S.
Government's response to the regional crime, violence and drugs
that are crossing our borders. Merida is, of course, a
multinational multi-agency effort with many facets. It
represents at an historic opportunity to transform our regional
security cooperation and is a significant effort to confront
the threats of organized crime that affects Mexico, Central
America and the United States. Our partners south of the border
have called for assistance, and that call must be answered.
Let me speak a little bit about what DHS can contribute to
answering that call. In the Merida Initiative, if adopted by
Congress and if funded, we offer many opportunities for
assistance through immigration and Customs enforcement, CBP,
Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard, we are
charged with primary responsibility and authority of
interdicting and investigating the vast majority of cross-
border criminal activity.
While we have a number of programs that already are in
place, many of which are in my testimony which complement the
Merida Initiative, if adopted, the Initiative will allow us to
engage in even more significant ways.
For example, the Merida Initiative will tap into CBP's
border security expertise. Through the Merida process, we are
exploring the possibility of helping to procure and then train
our counterparts in multiple countries on the effective use of
nonintrusive inspection equipment. Through this effort, we are
fulfilling the unique CBP responsibility of helping to defend
the front lines on the front against transnational crime.
Another CBP program, the analysis of Advanced Passenger
Information System, helps through the collection and analysis
of passenger information to detect and interdict those
individuals who may pose a law enforcement, immigration or
national security risk as they travel in the air transit
system.
Through this arrangement under Merida, Panama would be
targeted for a pilot program in which we would assist them in
the analysis of API data and allow us to then provide targeted
information and assistance directly back to Panamanian law
enforcement agencies and train them in how to do this
themselves. ICE equally offers the development of a fully
operational multidisciplinary set of programs, including the
training of vetted units that work with our government law
enforcement agencies to interdict narcotics and trade, illegal
trade along the border.
If funded, Merida would allow ICE to provide participating
governments with training and equipment for the establishment
of bulk currency smuggling units, BCSUs.
With the purchase of maritime surveillance aircraft for the
Mexican Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard would also contribute to the
Merida Initiative. By increasing the interoperability of the
Mexican Navy's maritime surveillance aircraft with our own, we
are proposing to purchase for them the same platforms that our
Coast Guard uses, ensuring that if operational, there will be
full interoperability and ability to communicate in both
tactical and operational ways.
Our US-VISIT Program would, in conjunction with CBP and
ICE, be positioned to assist the Mexican National Migration
Institute, INAMI, to develop its integrated system for
immigration operations through sharing our information on
biometrics and technology. In short, we have an active role to
play in the development of the Merida Initiative. Merida is, as
I said, the U.S. Government's attempt to partner with foreign
governments to increase regional security by fighting cross-
border and organized crime.
We are a strong advocate of the Merida Initiative and the
interagency process that has developed it. We have been
involved in all aspects of the planning and will continue to be
so during implementation.
In conclusion, the Department of Homeland Security fully
supports Merida because Merida offers us an unprecedented
opportunity to work closely in partnership with the Calderon
administration in Mexico and with our other partners in Central
America, and it will put the security relationship with our
neighbors to the south on a new and different level that
ultimately will benefit the homeland security interests of the
United States. Thank you.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Secretary.
[The statement of Mr. Rosenzweig follows:]
Prepared Statement of Paul Rosenzweig
June 6, 2008
Chairwoman Sanchez, Ranking Member Souder, and Members of the
committee: It is an honor to submit this testimony to articulate why
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supports the Merida
Initiative and to lay out the unique competencies that DHS brings to
the table for this important undertaking.
the impact of transnational criminal organizations on regional security
Before discussing the DHS vision of the Merida Initiative, there
must be an acknowledgement of the violent and dangerous backdrop to
this hearing. Nearly every day, media outlets report on the activities
of transnational criminal organizations operating in Mexico and Central
America: whether it is the assassination of the Acting Chief of Mexican
Federal Police, or gang violence organized from within a prison and
directed against persons in the United States, Mexico and Central
America are beset by thugs and criminals intent on pursuing their own
ideological or financial gains at the expense of everyone else.
In Mexico, drug cartels are waging wars against each other and
those attempting to stop their illicit activities. These drug cartels
kill with impunity; killing not only members of competing cartels, but
also police officers and members of the military who are attempting to
protect Mexican citizens from crime and ensure a strong and
economically viable Mexico. The administration of Felipe Calderon has
taken very serious and courageous steps to combat this violence and to
stem the drug trade which fuels it.
Parts of Central America have become a transit zone for human,
arms, money, and narco-traffickers. Transnational criminal
organizations take advantage of circumstances where governments that
may otherwise have the political will to counter transnational criminal
activity, lack the resources to do so. In some cases, these governments
have been infiltrated by criminals resulting in corruption and inaction
that puts the very security of the region at risk.
It is also increasingly the case that cross-border criminal
organizations recognize that routes used to traffic narcotics and
people northward can also be used to traffic guns and bulk cash
southward. The result has been a surge in crime in the region and a
wave of violence that is shocking.
Neither this criminal phenomenon, nor the violence that follows,
recognize borders. Accordingly, the United States suffers from gang
violence, crime, and the trafficking of both people and narcotics.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics,
since 2005, ICE agents across 100 field offices, working in conjunction
with hundreds of Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies
Nation-wide, have arrested over 7,000 street gang members and
associates, representing over 736 different gangs. These apprehensions
include over 2,500 criminal arrests and nearly 5,500 administrative
immigration arrests. One hundred sixteen of those arrested were gang
leaders. More than 2,500 of the arrested suspects had violent criminal
histories. Through this initiative, ICE has also seized and removed
over 300 firearms from the streets.
Major Mexican drug trafficking organizations maintain a working
relationship with U.S.-based gangs, particularly in California and
Texas. The threats that cross-border criminal groups pose to the United
States and the region is further compounded by the fact that the same
activities used to fund criminal organizations and move contraband
could possibly be utilized by terrorists to fund their activities and
move dangerous weapons and people. Indeed, the threat posed by
transnational criminal organizations in this region is as multi-faceted
and dangerous as any this Nation has faced.
This regional violence has become a border integrity issue, and the
Merida Initiative is the U.S. Government's response to the regional
crime, violence, and drugs that are crossing our borders. The Merida
Initiative is a multinational, multi-agency effort to combat
transnational organized crime by increasing each country's capacity to
maintain security. As such, the Merida Initiative becomes part of the
solution to these problems inasmuch as it enhances work with regional
partners to counter these threats. President Bush has said that we have
a shared responsibility to confront transnational criminal
organizations and the Merida Initiative represents this shared
responsibility.
rationalization of the merida initiative to bring stability and
security to the region
Though more time could be spent describing the dangerous situation
to our South, this testimony will focus on why DHS supports the Merida
Initiative and how DHS can contribute to this important partnership.
The Merida Initiative represents an historic opportunity to
transform regional security cooperation for the benefit of all and is a
significant effort to confront the threat of organized crime that
affects Mexico, Central America, and the United States. The Merida
Initiative seeks to integrate security from the U.S. Southwest border
to Panama and strengthen our partners' capacities in three broad areas:
(1) Counter-Narcotics, Counterterrorism, and Border Security; (2)
Public Security and Law Enforcement; and (3) Institution Building and
Rule of Law. The purpose of the Merida Initiative is to support the
efforts already undertaken by our southern neighbors to end the scourge
of violence, gangs, and drug trafficking that plagues their citizens
and spills over into the United States.
Rather than simply giving money to foreign governments, the Merida
Initiative has been tailored to provide our foreign partners with the
specific tools they each need to fight transnational organized crime
and work cooperatively with the United States. Through a robust
interagency working group, which facilitated discussions with Mexico
and Central American officials and coordination with U.S. Government
officials in those countries, interagency subject matter experts
assessed the needs of each country and proposed specific items to aid
those countries efforts against cross-border criminals.
DHS views the Merida Initiative as a vehicle to facilitate
cooperation and capacity building between the U.S. Government and our
partners in the Western Hemisphere. From the DHS perspective, the
Merida Initiative is an opportunity to more fully engage our regional
counterparts and more cooperatively work together to deter and
dismantle cross-border criminal organizations and the threats they
pose. By working with regional partners on regional initiatives, DHS
multiplies the effectiveness of its own border security efforts and
helps the United States, over the long-term, develop sustainable
security partnerships. In this sense, DHS sees the Merida Initiative as
a step forward in homeland security and a significant piece of a
comprehensive national security plan. DHS recognizes that a regional
effort--which involves multi-national cooperation--is ultimately
required to ensure the security of our homeland. The United States will
be most secure when the entire region is secure.
DHS has been an integral part of the Merida Initiative because
border security and protection is part of our mandate. The Merida
Initiative rightly complements existing security strategies that are
owned by DHS, mention DHS expressly, or have goals that parallel DHS's
mission. DHS is charged with the responsibility to protect the
homeland: to control and protect the U.S. border; to investigate border
violations; and to ensure the legal flow of goods and people--among the
same aims of the Merida Initiative.
For example, the National Strategy for Homeland Security places
significant emphasis on limiting the illicit flow of people and all
types of contraband, including drugs, through or between our ports of
entry. The Merida Initiative provides funding to improve our partners'
ability to harden their own ports of entry through training and
equipment that increases their capacity to identify and confiscate
contraband. Also, the National Strategy for Homeland Security
emphasizes the need to protect critical infrastructure. Again, the
Merida Initiative has funding set aside for critical infrastructure
improvement. Later, my testimony will outline some of the specific
programs that are part of the Merida Initiative proposal which directly
connect to DHS missions and operational expertise, but these general
examples serve to illustrate how closely the aims of the Merida
Initiative mirror DHS missions.
In a similar fashion, Central American leaders convened and
participated in the U.S.-Central American Integration System (SICA)
Dialogue on Security in July 2007. In this meeting, Central American
ministers identified gangs, drug trafficking, and trafficking of arms
as their most pressing security concerns. Later, the SICA group issued
its regional security strategy which identified the transnational
threats that Central American governments mutually agreed were most
pressing and against which they were committed to undertake joint
action. From its inception, the Merida Initiative was tied directly to
the SICA strategy, thus building on the articulated will and
initiatives of Central American leaders. Many of the issues identified
by SICA are issues within which DHS has a responsibility.
The Merida Initiative also runs parallel to other U.S. Government
strategies, like the National Southwest Border Counter-Narcotics
Strategy, which outlines U.S. efforts to improve coordination of law
enforcement activities both within the U.S. Government and with
international partners, and in which DHS plays a substantial role.
DHS will also play a substantial role in many aspects of
implementation of the Merida Initiative if funded. Through U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), DHS is charged with primary
responsibility and authority when it comes to the interdiction and
investigation of the vast majority of cross-border criminal activities
(including trafficking in arms and people), has significant
responsibility with regard to drugs, and serves as the clearinghouse
for issues related to border security enhancement. The Merida
Initiative's ultimate end goal is to increase the security of our
homeland by increasing the security of the region. In that light, given
that all programs within DHS share the goal of improving homeland
security, nearly every DHS program in some way complements or enhances
the programs of the Merida Initiative.
As an example of how closely DHS efforts mirror the aims of the
Merida Initiative, the following is a sampling of DHS efforts that are
connected directly to the Merida Initiative.
Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST)
The Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) program was
proposed in 2005 as the Department of Homeland Security's approach to
combat cross-border criminal activity and violence along our southern
border with Mexico. In 2006, Secretary Chertoff adopted the BEST
initiative to bring together Federal, State, local and foreign law
enforcement resources in an effort to identify, disrupt, and dismantle
organizations seeking to exploit vulnerabilities along the southern
border and threaten the overall safety and security of the American
public. ICE, CBP and DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A)
personnel work cooperatively with other law enforcement entities to
take a comprehensive approach toward combating criminal organizations
involved in cross-border crimes. One of the primary missions of the
BEST program is to prevent the illegal exportation of firearms from the
United States into Mexico, a particular concern of the Mexican
Government. The Government of Mexico has agreed to assign full-time
representatives to each of the BESTs.
The BEST program is one of our most highly successful southern
border law enforcement programs. In fiscal year 2007, the BESTs were
responsible for over 500 criminal arrests, over 1,000 administrative
arrests, 160 indictments, and 77 convictions. The BESTs were also
integral in the seizure of over 1,300 pounds of cocaine, nearly 50,000
pounds of marijuana, 150 pounds of methamphetamine, 135 pounds of
heroin, 237 weapons, 12 improvised explosive devices, 178 vehicles,
approximately $2.5 million in U.S. currency, and the discovery of two
cross-border tunnels used to smuggle drugs, arms, and/or persons.
In an effort to stem the flow of weapons being smuggled illegally
into Mexico, ICE is also promoting a new initiative utilizing the
investigative strengths of both the U.S. and Mexican representatives to
the BESTs in an effort to identify, investigate, and aid the Department
of Justice in prosecuting those who would seek to illegally export
weapons to Mexico.
Homeland Security Intelligence Support Team (HIST)
The DHS HIST was established in the El Paso Intelligence Center
(EPIC) in the Fall of 2007 to ensure the application of national
intelligence capabilities to support border operations, to strengthen
intelligence and information sharing across the Federal, State and
local partners, and to help ensure that front-line operators have
access to the intelligence they need to efficiently perform their
duties. In addition to the deployment of DHS Intelligence professionals
to EPIC, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is deploying both
Reports Officers and classified computer networks to key locations
along the Southwest border. The purpose is to enhance DHS' ability to
rapidly and efficiently share critical intelligence with those who need
it most, and this has significantly increased its analytic focus on
border security issues to serve the Department of Homeland Security, as
well as our Federal partners, State, local and tribal stakeholders, and
the intelligence community at large.
Operation Against Smugglers Initiative on Safety and Security (OASISS)
Since August 2005, CBP has worked closely with Mexican officials in
a bilateral alien smuggler prosecutions program called Operation
Against Smugglers Initiative on Safety and Security (OASISS). OASISS is
a joint initiative between the United States and Mexico that enables
both governments to share information and prosecute smugglers for
crimes committed in the border region. Through OASISS, both governments
are able to track and record prosecution efforts on both sides of the
border and work together to make the strongest case against these
criminals. The intent of the program is to target alien smugglers and
human traffickers operating in the immediate border region. The OASISS
program has had a significant and positive impact on operations, and
has furthered smuggling investigations both in the United States and
Mexico. Due to current expansion and awareness of the OASISS program,
the number of cases generated from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2007
decreased 12 percent, and the number of principals prosecuted decreased
70 percent during the same time period. As you can imagine, with
success like this, we are looking to significantly expand this program
under Merida.
Bulk Cash Smuggling
ICE has a number of programs to address the problem of bulk cash
smuggling. One of these--``Operation Firewall''--addresses the threat
of bulk cash smuggling via commercial and private passenger vehicles,
commercial airline shipments, airline passengers, and pedestrians
transiting to Mexico along the southern border. ICE and CBP have
conducted various Operation Firewall operations with Mexican Customs
and the Mexican Money Laundering Vetted Unit. ICE hopes to expand
existing Operation Firewall operations to designated locations in the
near future, including additional border crossing locations along the
southern border with Mexico. All significant Operation Firewall
seizures result in criminal investigations with the goal of identifying
the source of the funds and the responsible organizations.
ICE has also recently established a Trade Transparency Unit (TTU)
with Mexico, located in Mexico City. The mission of the TTU is to
identify cross-border trade anomalies, which are indicative of trade-
based money laundering. Under this initiative, ICE and law enforcement
agencies in cooperating countries work to facilitate the exchange of
import/export data and financial information. The establishment of our
TTU with Mexico was completed just a few weeks ago. ICE has provided,
and will continue to provide, Mexico TTU representatives with in-depth
training on the Data Analysis and Research for Trade Transparency
System (DARTTS). ICE has already installed the system, has provided
expert technical support, and will continue to do so as needed. Once
fully trained, Mexican TTU representatives will be able to use trade
data to develop criminal targets involved in crimes such as tax
evasion, customs fraud, and trade-based money laundering. The
establishment of the TTU in Mexico City will benefit both Mexico and
the United States in their efforts to combat criminal organizations.
ICE has TTUs in multiple locations around the world and continues to
seek new partners.
Firearms Trafficking
CBP, ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have developed a
joint strategy referred to as the Southwest Border Trafficking
Initiative, which aims at identifying and disrupting the illicit cross-
border trafficking of firearms and ammunition. As part of this
interagency strategy, these organizations have agreed upon broad
principles to identify, investigate, and interdict the illicit cross-
border trafficking of firearms and ammunition into Mexico. Discussions
are ongoing to address more detailed procedures regarding the
coordination of multi-agency operations and information sharing. The
initiative's strategy is based on three pillars: Analysis of Firearms
Related Data, Information Sharing, and Coordinated Operations. ATF has
established the Southwest Border Gun Center in EPIC, which serves as a
central repository for firearms-related information and intelligence.
The purpose of the Southwest Border Trafficking Initiative is to
identify, dismantle and disrupt transnational criminal networks
responsible for smuggling illegal weapons and ammunition from the
United States into Mexico, posing a threat to the overall safety and
security of both countries through seizures and the aggressive
prosecution of such organizations. The initiative incorporates a vetted
investigative unit that provides investigative responses to weapons
seizures at Mexican ports of entry, as well as investigation of related
border security vulnerabilities. In addition, ICE works in conjunction
with CBP to facilitate interdiction enforcement operations based on
intelligence generated through this bilateral initiative.
In furtherance of this strategy, ICE is initiating Operation Armas
Cruzadas to combat the smuggling of weapons from the United States into
Mexico. This initiative aims to facilitate bilateral interdiction,
investigation and intelligence-sharing activities to identify, disrupt,
and dismantle cross-border criminal networks that smuggle weapons from
the United States into Mexico.
Drug Trafficking
CBP and ICE have significant responsibility in the interdiction of
illicit drugs as such contraband crosses U.S. borders, whether at ports
of entry or otherwise. DHS also has the means and expertise to
investigate these international smuggling organizations, while working
with our foreign and U.S. counterparts such as the DEA.
Bilateral Strategic Plan
In August 2007, Mexican Customs, ICE and CBP signed a Bilateral
Strategic Plan to fight trans-border crime. The Bilateral Strategic
Plan strengthens cooperation in matters related to law enforcement by
expanding existing institutional cooperation mechanisms and
establishing new programs of collaboration designed to fight
trafficking and smuggling of prohibited goods, fraud, and related
crimes. The plan establishes four working groups addressing capacity
building, border management, customs security, and law enforcement. All
four working groups were formally launched in November 2007. The
working groups will expand on existing cooperation to coordinate and
implement joint security initiatives, efficient border management,
integrity and capacity building assistance and joint enforcement and
interdiction initiatives. The goal of these efforts is to enhance the
security of our southern border with Mexico.
Border Violence Protocols (BVP)
On March 3, 2006, a bi-national action plan to combat border
violence and improve public safety was signed by Secretary Chertoff and
his counterpart in Mexico. This action plan set forth goals and
objectives to ensure the appropriate law enforcement agencies of the
respective governments work together to provide an effective,
comprehensive joint response to incidents of cross-border violence and
crime. In response to this plan, CBP created a headquarters bi-national
working group to oversee the development and implementation of Border
Violence Protocols (BVP) along the southwest border. The BVP have now
been instituted along the entire U.S.-Mexico border and are working
efficiently and effectively. These protocols serve as a mechanism to
facilitate operational response to incidents--with CBP, ICE and their
Mexican counterparts coordinating together. At the local level, the
BVPs have instituted monthly meetings between the U.S. Government, the
Federal Government of Mexico, as well as State and local law
enforcement officials to further develop and strengthen the working
relationships between both countries. The Border Violence Protocols are
another example of how the United States and Mexico are working closely
together to create a safer and more secure border region.
Global Trafficking in Persons
ICE is working to combat human trafficking by applying its
expertise to counter this humanitarian and security problem in which
organized syndicates exploit the vulnerability of the human condition
to turn a profit. This crime is not limited to our borders, as many of
the victims are forced to work in brothels and other nefarious
businesses throughout our country.
The President's $50 million Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Initiative
was established in 2003 to assist foreign countries in combating
trafficking in persons. In furtherance of this initiative, ICE has also
created a position of Global Trafficking in Persons (G-TIP) Coordinator
to identify, develop, implement and coordinate these projects under the
President's Initiative. ICE coordinates--in conjunction with the
Department of Justice--a G-TIP law enforcement initiative in Mexico
centered around foreign law enforcement capacity building to include
TIP/Sex Tourism training, establishing vetted units, rescuing
trafficking victims, and providing support to prosecutors.
Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology (NII) Training
CBP employs Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology (NII) technology at
all land ports of entry. This technology ensures a large percentage of
conveyances are examined in a non-intrusive manner for contraband while
permitting the smooth flow of legitimate trade and travel. While it
would require four officers approximately 4 hours to unload and
thoroughly examine a commercial conveyance full of cargo for
contraband, a large-scale NII system can produce X-ray images of the
conveyance and cargo permitting two officers to conduct an examination
for contraband in a matter of a few minutes (e.g. 3 to 5 minutes). This
technology also prevents unnecessary damage to conveyances and cargo
caused by manual methods and allows the officers utilizing the
technology to see into areas that otherwise cannot be examined. This
technology not only ensures contraband does not cross the border but
also enables us to keep our country safe from weapons of mass
destruction entering our country. Under the Merida Initiative, we are
hoping to expand the use of this equipment by the government of Mexico
in order to expand both countries' interdiction efforts and ensure that
our border is not the only line of defense against these illicit
materials.
U.S. Coast Guard
The USCG has a number of cooperative programs with Mexico and
Central America in a variety of areas, including port security, search
and rescue, environmental response, and other programs that often
involve the Mexican Navy. With regard to enforcement for example, in
recent months the Coast Guard has seen a significant increase in the
level of cooperation with the Government of Mexican in obtaining
authority to stop, board, and search Mexican flagged vessels (or
vessels claiming Mexican nationality) suspected of drug smuggling. This
includes recent cases in which the Mexican Government authorized a
boarding in less than 2 hours. Previously, the Coast Guard had
encountered extensive difficulties in receiving this authority.
However, the efforts of our Coast Guard Attache in Mexico City, in
working with his Mexican counterparts, have greatly contributed to the
enhanced cooperation and the establishment of a stronger working
relationship with Mexico on drug smuggling. The United States and
Mexico's participation in summits with other regional partners,
exchanges of information about each nation's respective laws applicable
to maritime drug smuggling, and sharing of experiences in maritime
counter-drug operations continue to strengthen further the working
relationship between our two countries.
the dhs contribution under the merida initiative
In addition to the list of current DHS programs provided, DHS is
poised through the Merida Initiative to engage in even more significant
ways. It is worth highlighting a few specific authorities,
responsibilities, and competencies that DHS has to offer Merida.
First, the Merida Initiative has tapped into CBP's border security
expertise. Through the Merida process, CBP has explored the possibility
of helping to procure and then train counterparts in multiple countries
on the effective use of non-intrusive inspection equipment. Through
programs that provide equipment and training on fixed and mobile
scanning technology, CBP is filling their unique mandate by helping to
defend the front lines in the fight against transnational organized
crime by better equipping counterparts in the detection and
interdiction of illicitly trafficked contraband.
Closely tied to this program are CBP's canine units. CBP's Canine
Enforcement Program is the one of the largest, most diverse, and most
respected law enforcement canine programs in the country. The CBP
canine program continues to diversify canine detection capabilities
needed to combat terrorism, and interdict narcotics and other
contraband, while helping to facilitate and process legitimate trade
and travel. Providing optimal defense at and between our borders, CBP
has the largest number of working dog teams of any Federal law
enforcement agency in the United States.
Another CBP program--the Advance Passenger Information System
(APIS)--helps to manage, through the collection and analysis of
passenger information, the arrival and processing of persons entering
the country at its international airports. The purpose is to better
detect and interdict those individuals that may pose a law enforcement,
immigration or national security risk to our homeland. Requested Merida
Initiative money would fund a pilot APIS program in Panama, where that
country would provide API data to CBP, who would then analyze it and
give Panamanian law enforcement agencies immediate, actionable
information regarding an impending attempt of a person of interest (be
they a gang member, drug dealer, or arms trafficker) to enter or
transit their country. This pilot program would serve as the basis for
analyzing the requirements and costs of a viable APIS program in
Central America and promote information sharing between governments.
Merida could provide participating governments the requisite
training and equipment to enable the establishment of vetted Bulk
Currency Smuggling Units (BCSUs). The vetted BCSUs would be able to
conduct joint bi-lateral and multi-lateral BCS and cash courier
interdiction operations in conjunction with the U.S. Government. These
joint BCSU operations would enable regional intelligence and
enforcement coordination between the partner nations. Because ICE is
the only U.S. Government agency investigating Title 31 (which deals
with cross-border smuggling of bulk cash), it could assist these
countries in stopping such transnational criminal activities.
ICE is not a ``single mission'' agency. Instead, they are an agency
with responsibilities for all immigration and customs violation
investigations; including human trafficking, arms trafficking, and (in
cooperation with DEA) drug trafficking. ICE also offers the development
of fully operational, multi-disciplinary vetted units that work with
U.S. Government and foreign law enforcement entities to fight the
multiple threats that face our region. These vetted units complement
currently established single-focus units by broadening foreign law
enforcement agencies' investigatory expertise and facilitating the
capture of cross-border criminals who engage in multiple illegal
activities. Further, ICE has expertise in assets forfeiture, victim and
witness protection, and fraudulent document detection/investigations.
ICE also has a significant footprint internationally. ICE currently
staffs nine foreign offices--five in Mexico and four in Central
America--where investigators and analytical support personnel work
daily with their host country counterparts to address transnational
criminal threats. Merida would build upon this already established
relationship to better eliminate these threats before they impact the
United States.
Both the USCG and U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator
Technology (US-VISIT) can also contribute toward the Merida Initiative.
For example, the CASA 235 maritime surveillance aircraft for the
Mexican Navy were intentionally requested to increase interoperability
with USCG maritime surveillance efforts and to increase Mexico's
capacity to patrol its own waters, protect critical infrastructure, and
protect human life. Through increased operational parity, the
governments of the United States and Mexico will have a better
opportunity to work together in these endeavors. The USCG can also play
a key role in port security improvement projects aimed at decreasing
the possibility of a terrorist attack at key regional ports.
US-VISIT, in conjunction with CBP and ICE, can also assist Mexico's
National Migration Institute (INAMI) in more fully developing its
immigration database, known as the Integrated System for Immigration
Operations (SIOM), through sharing expertise on biometric information
and technology/standards. Additionally, CBP, ICE, and US-VISIT can all
play a role in helping modernize internal immigration control and
document issuance processes throughout Mexico.
coordination and reporting under the merida initiative
Since President Bush's March 2007 meetings with President Calderon
in Merida and then President Berger in Guatemala, the Merida Initiative
has been framed as a partnership: A shared approach to a shared
problem. On one hand, the Merida Initiative involves the U.S.
Government partnering with foreign governments to increase regional
security by fighting cross-border organized crime. However, it is also
the case that the Merida Initiative represents the partnering of
various departments and agencies within the U.S. Government to increase
regional security by fighting transnational organized crime through the
pooling of their operational expertise and programs. DHS remains a
strong advocate of the Merida Initiative interagency process. To date,
DHS has been involved in all aspects of the planning of Merida and will
continue to be so during implementation.
In conclusion, the Department of Homeland Security fully supports
the Merida Initiative. Merida offers us an unprecedented opportunity to
work closely in partnership with the Calderon administration in Mexico
and puts our security relationship with our other neighbors to the
south on a new level to the benefit of U.S. security interests. It is
DHS' hope that Congress will fully fund the programs that are
identified and allow DHS to support these countries in their fight
against transnational criminals.
Ms. Sanchez. I will now recognize Assistant Secretary
Johnson to summarize his statements in 5 minutes or less.
STATEMENT OF DAVID T. JOHNSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE,
BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS
Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Madam Chairwoman,
Congressman Souder, other distinguished Members of the
committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before
you to discuss the Merida Initiative because along with
Secretary Rosenzweig, we believe that confronting these
challenges requires complementary effort not just on both sides
of the border, but across our Nation's national security and
law enforcement agencies. I would also like to express my
gratitude for the support the Congress has shown for the
President's request for the Initiative. We are pleased that the
Congress has included a substantial percentage of the funding
requested for Merida in the fiscal year 2008 supplemental
passed by the House and Senate. We look forward to working with
you as the differences between these two bills result and we
hope become law.
Madam Chairwoman, over the past decade, criminal
organizations have grown in size and strength throughout Mexico
and Central America. To protect their lucrative and dangerous
activities, these organizations undermine and intimidate
government institutions through bribery and violence directed
at police, politicians, prosecutors and judges. Approximately
90 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States
transits through Mexico. Mexico is a major source of America's
methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana.
But since taking office at the end of 2006 Mexican
President Calderon has taken unprecedented action against drug
trafficking networks that threaten his own people as well as
our citizens here at home. He has reorganized the Federal
police force, deployed military forces to support police
operations, routed out corrupt officials, and extradited a
record number of kingpins and other criminals to the United
States. Over the past several weeks, we have witnessed several
high-profile assassinations of senior Mexican law enforcement
officials, including that of the head of Mexico's national
police outside his home in the capital. These brazen attacks
strike at the heart of the rule of law. They are clearly
intended to deter the Mexican government's efforts to confront
organized crime.
Madam Chairwoman, in January, I had the opportunity to
visit Mexico City and then the border in El Paso with
Intelligence Committee Chairman Reyes. Having served at the
beginning of my foreign service career as Vice Consulate in
Ciudad Juarez, I have a special appreciation of the
opportunities of that border community. On my visit in January,
I was struck by the palpable concern in El Paso that the
violence in Mexico could soon spill over into American border
communities. Indeed, drug trafficking, gang violence and other
criminal activity in Mexico and Central America are readily
apparent in communities across our country. These transnational
threats require transnational solutions. The Merida Initiative
is our proposal to assist our southern neighbors in their
confrontation with this threat. This initiative grew out of
President Bush's trip to Mexico and Central America in 2007.
During that visit, President Calderon and the then-Guatemalan
President Berger, told the President that organized crime was
their highest challenge and they wanted to work more closely
with each other and with the United States to confront it.
To respond quickly to this urgent threat and to take
advantage of this historic opportunity to improve our own
security cooperation in the region, the President included $550
million for the Merida Initiative in the fiscal year 2008
supplemental request and another $550 million in the fiscal
year 2009 regular budget request. The first year includes $500
million for Mexico and $50 million for Central America and the
second includes $450 million for Mexico and $100 million for
Central America.
If appropriated, this funding would provide equipment,
including transport helicopters, surveillance aircraft and
inspection equipment, and training to strengthen the capacity
of law enforcement, judicial and corrections institutions. The
President's request also includes funding to enhance police
vetting and to address criminal youth gangs, money laundering
and drug demand. The equipment and activities included in the
President's request were determined through a comprehensive
interagency assessment of the host nation's request by
validation teams of U.S. experts representing all elements of
our national security and law enforcement community.
I want to assure the committee that if funding is
appropriated, I will work with our interagency partners to see
that it is utilized properly, that appropriate financial
controls are in place, and it enhances our own law enforcement
objectives and that the programs are operated as efficiently as
we possibly can.
As in other State Department managed law enforcement
assistance programs, no funding would be provided directly to
these countries and all training and equipment will be subject
to end use monitoring to ensure it is used for its intended
purpose. The background of all recipients of assistance will be
checked for allegations of human rights violations, corruption
and ties to narco traffickers. For aviation assets which have
been requested only for Mexico, we made an effort to support
airframes in which Mexico has already invested to reduce the
need for long-term operations and maintenance support.
Again, Madam Chairwoman, thank you for the opportunity to
appear before you. We believe these programs can have an
immediate positive impact on these countries' ability to meet
these challenges and the closer bilateral and regional
cooperation it forges will pay dividends to us well into the
future. I appreciate the committee's interest in these issues
and I look forward to attempting to address any questions you
may have. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Johnson follows:]
Prepared Statement of David T. Johnson
June 5, 2008
Madam Chairwoman, Congressman Souder, and other distinguished
Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you to discuss the Merida Initiative and how it will help combat
transnational criminal organizations that threaten security in Central
America, Mexico and the United States. I am pleased to appear before
you with Acting Assistant Secretary Paul Rosenzweig of the Department
of Homeland Security's Office of International Affairs since
confronting these challenges requires complementary efforts on both
sides of the border and the cooperative efforts of all agencies whose
mission focuses on America's security.
With increased globalization, we have seen further proliferation of
illegal migration, narcotics and weapons trafficking, violent gangs,
laundered money and counterfeit goods--all phenomena whose effects
spill across national boundaries. Over the past decade, drug
trafficking, transnational gangs, and other criminal organizations have
grown in size and strength. They aggressively seek to undermine and
intimidate government institutions in Mexico and Central America,
compromise municipal and State law enforcement, and weaken governments'
ability to provide public security and advance the rule of law.
The growth of criminal organizations is a major threat. They
corrupt the police, judiciary, and prison systems, and fuel a growing
popular demand for governments to respond to the threat posed by them.
The effects of this growing problem are also readily apparent in the
United States in the form of gang violence, crime, and trafficking in
illegal drugs and persons--all of which threaten our own national
security and impose mounting economic costs.
The United States Government recognizes that working by ourselves,
we cannot successfully confront the significant threat transnational
criminal organizations pose to ourselves and the countries in our
hemisphere. Because of that fact, in the case of youth gangs, the State
Department, in partnership with the Departments of Justice, Homeland
Security and others, is implementing in Central America, a
governmentwide strategy that includes prevention programs, law
enforcement capacity building, joint law enforcement operations, and
other bilateral and regional anti-gang programs.
affects us all
As we see in Mexican border cities such as Tijuana, each horrific
act of violence seems to be surmounted by the next. I spent time
earlier in my career as a Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in
Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, and have a strong
appreciation of the close relationship between the United States and
Mexico, especially in our border communities. The level of violence has
reached such drastic proportions in some areas of Mexico, including
along the border, that combined Mexican military and police units have
been deployed to restore order.
In the Tijuana area, border violence has increased significantly in
the past 6 months. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have
suffered rock throwing incidents, forcing them to respond with crowd
control tactics. We are painfully aware of the terrible day in January
when Border Patrol agent Luis Aguilar was killed in the line of duty by
a vehicle believed to be carrying drugs in the Imperial Sand Dunes
Park. Mexican authorities, with the assistance of the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) attache office, quickly responded in that
case, arresting a suspect who has been charged in Agent Aguilar's
death.
There has, indeed, been a wave of attacks and assassinations all
along the border, including an incident in which a Tijuana policeman
was killed in his home along with his wife and 9-year-old daughter, as
well as a shootout involving some 100 soldiers and drug traffickers
near a kindergarten. In Ciudad Juarez, there have been more than 300
drug-related murders so far this year, surpassing the total for all of
last year. The chief of police resigned after his deputy was
assassinated, and several members of the police force on a drug
trafficker ``hit list'' were murdered. Now, the acting police chief is
a military officer and joint military-police units patrol the city
streets.
Another major concern on both sides of the border is the threat of
methamphetamines abuse and trafficking. Because of increased law
enforcement efforts and the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of
2005, most U.S.-based ``super'' meth labs, that is, labs capable of
producing more than 10 pounds per cycle, have moved from the United
States to Mexico. Partly as a result, methamphetamine abuse has
increased in border areas, especially in Tijuana. The government of
Mexico has taken decisive steps to address this menace by outlawing
imports of the precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine, even
for legitimate use.
The leaders of Mexico and Central America are already working to
beat back violence and crime for their own citizens and for ours, and
they have turned to us to join them--as partners.
mexico
In Mexico, President Calderon has acted decisively. He has
reorganized the Federal police, put new and additional resources in the
hands of his security services, deployed military units to support
police operations, focused on rooting out corrupt officials, arrested
major crime figures, sought fundamental legal reforms in the criminal
justice system, and extradited a record number of drug kingpins and
other criminals to the United States. The determination and commitment
shown by the Calderon Administration is historic; and the early results
impressive.
However, President Calderon has recognized that leadership and
political will are not enough; he needs greater institutional and
material resources for both near-term success and long-term
institutional change. In an unprecedented step, he has asked the United
States to launch a new partnership with Mexico and to help him
strengthen Mexican law enforcement, public safety, and border security
to defeat the drug money-fueled criminal organizations. The Merida
Initiative is not a ``traditional'' foreign assistance request. It is,
as our joint declaration called it, ``a new paradigm'' for security
cooperation.
central america
At the same time, the nations of Central America have committed to
collective action to address common security concerns. Through the
Central American Integration System (SICA), these governments have
expressed their political resolve to join forces to strengthen regional
security; however they lack sufficient tools and capacity to execute
such will. Despite these challenges, national authorities remain
committed to the fight, collaborating with each other as well as with
the United States. As with Mexico, they have increased the resources
and other elements devoted to transnational security and enforcement
efforts.
beginnings of the merida intiative
It is in our own national interest to support these efforts. Over
the past several months, one of the President's highest priorities has
been the Merida Initiative, a regional security cooperation initiative
which, if funded, will greatly enhance our anti-narcotics and law
enforcement efforts with Mexico and the seven Central America
countries. The Merida Initiative grew out of conversations in 2007 that
President Bush had with Mexican President Calderon in Merida, just
after speaking with then-President Berger of Guatemala. He heard the
same concerns from both that crime is the No. 1 challenge and that they
wanted to work more closely with each other and with the United States.
After much consultation with Mexico and Central America, last
October President Bush asked Congress for an initial sum of $500
million for Mexico and $50 million for Central America in fiscal year
2008 supplemental funding to support the Merida Initiative. In the 2009
budget, the administration has requested an additional $450 million for
Mexico and $100 million for Central America for this initiative.
This funding request is part of over $1.4 billion that the
administration plans to request for this multi-year initiative. It will
provide equipment, such as transport helicopters, surveillance
aircraft, and information technology, and it will assist in our mutual
efforts to break the backs of criminal organizations. The initiative
will also support capacity building as well as police and judicial
reform efforts already underway in Mexico and Central America.
merida initiative program elements
Overall, the Merida Initiative, if approved, will focus on three
areas: Counternarcotics, Counterterrorism, and Border Security; Public
Security and Law Enforcement; and Institution Building and the Rule of
Law.
The Merida Initiative will provide support to Mexico and Central
American countries based on specific requests, and after having had our
experts meet to determine needs. If approved by Congress, the Merida
Initiative will provide Mexico:
Helicopters and surveillance aircraft;
Non-intrusive inspection equipment, ion scanners, canine
units for Mexican customs;
Technologies to support collecting information for criminal
law enforcement;
Technical advice and training to strengthen the institutions
of justice--vetting for the new police force, new offices of
citizen complaints and professional responsibility, and witness
protection programs;
Programs to support Mexico's efforts on demand reduction,
anti-corruption efforts and human rights; and
Programs to support Mexico's efforts to enhance their border
management process.
Our initial proposal for the Central America part of the Merida
Initiative includes over $25 million (out of the total $50 million
proposed) to help our partners fight criminal gangs. The Presidents of
Central America have recognized the need to address common threats
regionally; our goal will be to achieve a fully coordinated response to
these transnational threats. For Central America, if approved, the
Merida Initiative will provide funding to:
Strengthen the region's ability to defend its borders
against traffickers and to interdict criminals;
Improve investigation and prosecution of dangerous gang
members;
Fight arms trafficking through tracing mechanisms and
training for law enforcement; and
Provide training in prison management, courts, prosecutors,
and communities to help strengthen justice systems.
In Central America, the package seeks to address citizen insecurity
by giving these governments the tools they need to more effectively
address criminal gangs, modernize and professionalize police forces and
reform the judicial sector to restore and strengthen citizen
confidence.
To address the proliferation of gangs and gang violence, through
the Merida Initiative, we will implement all five elements of the U.S.
Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico:
Diplomacy, Repatriation, Law Enforcement, Capacity Enhancement, and
Prevention. Under this comprehensive strategy, the U.S. Government is
working with Central American governments to combat transnational and
other gangs through both prevention and enforcement.
The gang prevention program will increase security by providing
thousands of at-risk youth in targeted urban ``hot spots'' with
positive education, training, and job opportunities, thereby reducing
the risk of gang recruitment, crime, and violence in the region.
pending legislation
I want to express my thanks to the Congress for showing support for
these efforts by including Merida funding in both fiscal year 2008
supplemental bills that have been passed by the House and Senate. We
look forward to continuing to work with Congress so the most effective
package is included in the final bill. Both the governments of Mexico
and the United States believe that there is value added by providing
many of these programs and assets, especially air assets, since this
will allow us to enhance law enforcement as well as military
cooperation.
As for the Caribbean, we share congressional concern that drug
trafficking represents a serious threat to the region. In the last 2
years the island of Hispaniola has become the principal transit point
in the Caribbean for drugs headed to the United States and Europe due
primarily to a dramatic rise in drug smuggling by small aircraft from
Venezuela. We will continue to look for ways to improve security
cooperation in this region--and to facilitate cooperation among the
countries of the Caribbean.
We will be working with several U.S. Government agencies to
implement the Merida Initiative, once the supplemental appropriation is
completed. We intend to work closely with DHS and DOJ to enhance the
security of our Nation's border through port, airport and border
security programs; through law enforcement training, crime prevention
and police modernization; through financial intelligence gathering to
counter money laundering; and through improving case tracking and law
enforcement database management.
Thank you for your time and I would be happy to address any
questions you may have.
Ms. Sanchez. I thank the witnesses for their testimony. I
will remind each Member that he or she will have 5 minutes to
question the witnesses. I will now recognize myself for
questions.
So here is the problem. As a Californian, we have obviously
a border with Mexico in particular that has been heating up
lately because of these smuggling and drug wars and because of
the clampdown that has been going on by President Calderon's
administration. Believe me, I think all of us are very
appreciative of the fact that that government has taken on a
very difficult thing to do, and that is to try to eliminate, or
winnow down what is happening at the border. But it seems to be
getting worse. I mean, worse to the point where my family has
several properties just south of the border, and we are asking
each other, do we really go down, given some of the indications
and some of the violence that has been going on in the Baja
California peninsula? My constituents are asking the same
thing.
So when I look at this Merida Initiative, it concerns me
that we have a Department of Homeland Security who is on the
border, is making the relationships with their counterparts
across the border. Let's talk right now about Mexico, for
example, because this is a big concern for me. It seems to me
if we really want to hamper down what is happening at the
border, that the Department of Homeland Security should be, if
you will, in the driver's seat of the situation. But the way I
view the Merida Initiative is that somehow State will be
controlling the funds, will be controlling the issues, will be
controlling where the moneys go, will be, you know, and that
the Department of Homeland will be begging for funds from State
for this initiative.
So I would like both of you to comment on that, if you see
that or if there is really this interagency coordination going
on because I don't see it on paper.
Second, I would like to ask Mr. Rosenzweig, if you had
control of the money rather than State, what would be the
specific places that you would initially put that money to work
to stop what is really intimidating to many of our citizens on
our border, and that is this whole violence that is going on
across the southern border?
Mr. Johnson. Madam Chairwoman, if I could start by
addressing, I think, part of your question.
This is a foreign assistance program. So it is appropriated
under the provisions of the law that provide foreign assistance
and is coordinated by the State Department. But we have engaged
all aspects of our national security and law enforcement effort
in this. The elements of the Justice Department as well as DHS
have played a very strong role in this effort and including our
Department of Defense because a significant portion of the
proposal actually provides equipment for the Mexican military.
This is a fully engaged interagency process because it is a
broad spectrum problem. It is an organized crime problem, but
it is fueled by drugs. So DEA, of course, has a significant
role to play.
You mentioned the several issues and so did Paul in his
testimony where the individual elements of DHS also have strong
roles to play. I would caution against looking at a kind of a
single silver bullet here to try to solve the violence problem
in Mexico. I think the comprehensive solution that the
interagency has come up with and devised in response to the
open invitation of President Calderon in particular is going to
be the most effective way to seek to address this problem in
the long run.
If you look back over time in Mexico, you can say that
there was by some Mexican law enforcement agencies an effort to
even accommodate some of this commerce and elicit drugs. We
have an administration now that is willing to confront it and
to deal with it, to make significant steps in improving the
rule of law and reforming institutions in Mexico. I think will
put us on a significant different footing than we have been in
the past.
I can't predict for you that the level of violence will
drop off markedly in the very short term. But I think--I am
comfortable telling you that I believe that with the provision
of this equipment and this training and the reform programs
that it means for Mexico, we can look forward to a Mexican
neighbor that is much more grounded in the rule of law and is
safer for us in the long run.
Ms. Sanchez. Well, I would just say to you, Mr. Secretary,
that the people in California and Texas and Arizona can't wait
for the long term. The violence is getting out of control and I
hear it from my colleagues on the border States all the time.
So you know, you have to do short-term things, you have to do
long-term things. When I see this initiative in writing, it
worries me that the moneys are not going operationally to
confront what is a real threat on our southern border. Mr.
Rosenzweig, will you comment to if the moneys were more in your
lap, what would you do with it?
Mr. Rosenzweig. That is quite a hypothetical. As you know,
the funding mechanisms that Congress has chosen or--are the
international narcotics funding that is operated by the
Department of State. I would say at the outset that throughout
the world when DHS goes to do training and technical assistance
missions for foreign governments, we often look to our partners
at the Department of State for assistance and funding of this
nature, whether it is in the southern border region under the
Merida Initiative or training that we do in Southeast Asia
about human trafficking.
I think that, from our perspective, it is important to
understand that there are many pieces, as David said, to this
puzzle. Certainly much of what we need to do in South America,
in Mexico and Central America is work that is outside of DHS's
competence.
Enhancing the prosecutorial structures of our neighbors and
their ability to prosecute crimes, that is something that the
people of the Department of Justice know a great deal about and
we know nothing about. Likewise, some of the military training
that will go to the Mexican military is something that is
completely outside of our particular competence.
So let me state it in a positive way by saying that the
types of things that we want to do, that we think we can
contribute to and that if funded and pass through, we will do
are things like purchasing for Mexican Customs nonintrusive
inspection equipment and providing them training on how to use
it. It is a kind of 2-week training program and there will be
some after-installation assistance. Each of those machines is
quite expensive. They run in the million-dollar range. So how
many we can provide, how much training we can provide is a
function of how much you appropriate or Congress appropriates,
and how much of what you appropriate gets assigned to this
particular task.
Similarly, one of the proposals we have put forward is to
provide training to vetted bulk cash smuggling units which are
groups of vetted law enforcement officers who ICE goes down and
talks to and trains on how to identify bulk cash couriers and
how to interdict them more effectively. When we have given this
training around the world, it has generally proven very
effective. The Central American area is a well-known transit
point across the isthmus for drug money going north and south,
and that would be an ideal opportunity for us.
So I could perhaps go on for a great deal of time because
there is so much we could bring to the table, but I certainly
don't want to leave you with the impression that we have all of
the answers because we don't. Many of our colleagues in the
interagency do as well.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you to both of you on that. If you
would, Mr. Rosenzweig, I would love to have you give us a list
of those things that you believe Department of Homeland
Security could do. Again, for me the emphasis is a dire one. I
mean, when Californians are not going to Mexico because they
are afraid of the violence going on, that creates an economic
instability south of the border which creates more immigration
problems for us and many more issues going on.
So, you know, we are an economy that is so connected. Right
now we are really seeing the effects of a real fear of
violence, or even more importantly, more violence and it is
spilling really over onto the American side of the border.
I would now like to recognize my Ranking Member for 5
minutes, Mr. Souder.
Mr. Souder. Thank you. I feel that we have only partially
laid out the problem.
Mr. Johnson, what--other than black tar heroin, I know in
the meth data some of that is used in Mexico, just rough
ballpark, taking in 10 percents, how much would you guess
Mexico and for that matter Central America is a transit zone as
opposed to a consuming zone?
Mr. Johnson. I think that Central America is not
exclusively but very largely a transit zone. Mexico is becoming
a consuming country as it grows a middle class. That has become
part of worldwide phenomenon where people get more money and
they start to consume things that they shouldn't and in
addition to things that they should. I wouldn't know how to
quantify that at this point. But as I mentioned in my
testimony, we are in the 90 percent-plus range of the cocaine
coming into the United States coming from Mexico. The amount of
marijuana coming from Mexico into the United States is
significant for a reason that is usually underappreciated.
While most of the marijuana consumed in the United States
is actually produced here, the Mexican organized crime groups
or some of--they are operating some of the production here, and
in addition, they are using this as a cash cow to support their
operations in Mexico. Something the Mexicans really have
brought our attention to that we need to focus and to give
credit where it is very much due, CBP and the border patrol
have very much focused on this along with the U.S. attorneys to
focus on even relatively small shipments because it has been
disassembled and then reassembled in the United States. The
organized crime groups kind of figured out earlier how to get
around some of our threshold levels.
We have revisited that in consultation with the Mexican
attorney general so that we can focus more clearly on this. But
it is a problem that we are working. On the meth side,
methamphetamine, the large labs are now mostly in Mexico and
not the United States. On the positive side, Mexico has made
some extreme steps in confronting the precursor issue and has,
in fact, banned all usage for legitimate as well as
illegitimate purposes of the precursors in Mexico, requiring
their--the people who have the common cold there to use a
different formulary.
Mr. Souder. I think when you go through what you just did,
I think one of the most important things for the American
people and the people of Mexico, and, for that matter, Central
America, to understand is, this isn't the United States coming
in, trying to help address domestic problems in different
countries, that, in fact, the problem has grown and caused the
turmoil in most of these countries just as it did in Colombia,
Afghanistan, Bolivia, Peru, to some degree, Ecuador, because of
an American and European--but in the case of Mexico, mostly
American drug habits. For those who say this is American
interventionism or in America say, why are we trying to deal
with Mexico?
Look, we aggravated the problem. Therefore, if Mexico is
willing to work with us, we have an obligation to work with
them because we have exported our problems to them and that
this kind of super-nationalism is not understanding the basic
phenomenon here. In that, there is also a difference--and the
reason Homeland Security becomes critical in this is the
difference between Afghanistan, Colombia and other places is,
they don't have a border. You don't just go back and forth
across to Afghanistan and Colombia. Therefore, it is essential
that we try to work the border side. Yet, another challenge
here is that--and this is when we are coming in at this scale,
respecting each country's desire and mix--well, one other
thing.
In homeland security, when we look at this committee and
you think of the Department of Homeland Security, people think
of it as a picket fence border. But in fact, the Coast Guard is
down in the Caribbean, down in the eastern Pacific and that is
part of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE investigations
with CBP Air are all the way down in Colombia. They are all
over. The Department of Homeland Security is not border
exclusive.
So those things are important to get out as we talk about
the Merida Initiative. Now, in Colombia and in Bolivia and in
Peru, we had the same kind of basic dilemmas where you see the
violence and you see the transit and all this type of thing.
But one of the things we early on invested in, whether it was
the Colombian national police, the Uma Parz in Bolivia and
others is we invested in the law enforcement, getting vetted
units, getting training, making sure that they had adequate
pay. We even assisted in the pay. It is partly, do you cutoff
the head of the big groups, go after the big labs, go after the
big networks, which we have been trying to do, or provide them
helicopters and technical equipment, what we have done, or in
fact, how do we deal with this border question? Because the
violence is right along our border. It is spilling over in both
directions. Some of that appears to be woefully underpaid
police on the other side who are intimidated, who lack
protection, who when they try to enforce the law along the
border, and is there anything in the package that is responding
to that portion or is the package too small because we need to
go after the big pieces of equipment? But what is actually
being done as it relates to the fact that unlike all our other
narcotics efforts, this is right along our border? If I could
have each respond.
Mr. Johnson. I think Paul can probably respond for some
individual programs. But if I can respond to a couple of things
that you mentioned.
I mean, the law of concentric circles really applies here.
This is right--this is not just right along our border, but it
is also well into Mexico. This is an opportunity to give us a
real defense in depth, not just right at the border, but
because the elements of DHS and our other law enforcement
agencies are both on the border on our side but they are also
working with their counterparts in Mexico City. We already have
a program in Mexico City funded at the level of $37 million per
year on law enforcement assistance. This initiative gives us
the opportunity to greatly expand that. We have some success
stories already with this nondestructive testing equipment,
intrusive surveillance, vetted units that we are going to seek
to build on here.
So I think we are building on a program which has already
begun. On the investment in law enforcement, a significant part
of the training here is for training for law enforcement. It is
to provide Mexico with the ability to vet their entire Federal
police force in order through polygraphs and through background
investigations so that they have a greater reliance on
integrity of their Federal police force. But I don't want to
give you false assurances here. What this doesn't provide
funding for, and what this doesn't target is the State and
local people. Those are the faces that many people see at the
border. I think in a second wave, if you will, that is
something we will want to talk to the Mexicans about.
But this is a very big issue. It is a big country. So I
think the plus-up that we are talking about here will give us a
substantial effort in order to seek to address the problem.
Mr. Rosenzweig. Let me answer your question in kind of
three parts. The first is to agree with you completely that
what we have come to understand at the Department of Homeland
Security is that homeland security, in fact, begins overseas.
We have more than 2,000 people from our Department stationed
overseas in an operational capacity on a daily basis. Roughly
30, 35 percent of those are in Canada, Mexico and the
Caribbean, precisely because those areas are the ones that are
closest to the homeland and thus--I like David's phrase,
concentric circles. There is a concentric circle closest to us.
But I often say, a border is like a coin. It has two faces.
Anything that happens on one side of the border, one side of
the coin, affects the other face as well. We have, as you know,
already begun a number of programs cooperatively, and I will
focus here on the southern border, with our Mexican
counterparts that already give us a good foundation.
The best program, the border enforcement program that we
have started, the OASISS, the operation against smugglers
program, both of which are cooperative programs in which we
work hand-in-hand with our Mexican counterparts.
You mentioned earlier a new one that is just starting up,
the Armas Cruzadas, which is an ICE-operated program to work
against the flow of guns southward into Mexico. That is going
to require cooperation with ATF and with our Mexican
counterparts. What Merida will do--and this is the third part
of my answer--is actually build on those foundational
relationships and expand them by allowing us to provide better
training, better technical assistance, more equipment and--this
is the hardest part to quantify--but and build relationships
that are sustainable in a long-term way for a long time.
The U.S.-Mexican relationship has reflected a great deal of
tension because of the nature of our border and the nature of
our history. This, from our perspective, from the perspective
of CBP, ICE, border patrol folks on the ground represents a
unique opportunity to work in a cooperative way, no longer
pointing fingers at each other across the border, but to ramp
up in literally a stepped function the degree of our
cooperative relationship. If we can do this, it will represent
a significant opportunity for us.
Ms. Sanchez. I will now recognize Mr. Langevin for 5
minutes.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Gentlemen,
thank you very much for your testimony today. We certainly all
have a deeper appreciation of how difficult this problem is to
deal with. The size and the scope of the drug trade is
obviously troubling. We are all frustrated, it seems in our
ability to significantly cutoff the drug trade. I, for one,
think that this Merida Initiative has great potential, and I
look to support it.
I do have some questions, mainly focused on coordination,
planning and implementation on the one hand as well as training
support on the other side. So if you could answer these
questions in the time allotted. Under the Merida Initiative,
DHS and its components would provide a significant amount of
the assets and technical expertise. Because of the large
investment DHS would be making, it is obviously extremely
important that the Department is involved at every step of the
planning and implementation of the Initiative.
So my question here is: Are you satisfied with the level of
involvement that the Department has had in the formulation of
the Merida Initiative? What can be done to improve
communication channels among all the different departments
involved in administration of the Merida Initiative? Would it
be beneficial to have an interagency coordinating body at the
helm of the Merida Initiative? If so, what would it look like?
On the training part of it, the Merida Initiative obviously
calls for the delivery of major aviation assets, inspection
equipment, IT, hardware from CBP, ICE, the Coast Guard and US-
VISIT. So will the process for procuring and delivering these--
what will, I should say, the process of procuring and
delivering these assets to Mexico and Central America be? Will
any private contractors be used to help deliver the training
and the technical expertise needed to actually operate the
equipment since obviously the equipment is really going to be
only as effective as those who are actually using it? If you
could answer those questions.
Mr. Rosenzweig. Why don't I try on the first one, and I
will let David answer the first one in part and most of the
second one about the process for procurements since he will
probably manage most of that.
Asking someone who participates on a day-to-day basis in
the interagency process how he likes it is a bit like asking
for the self-assessment of a marriage or something like that.
There are ups and downs. But by and large, it has been quite
cooperative. To be sure, there are aspects of what DHS would
want to do that are not going to be the highest priority in the
interagency community. Equally so, however, we are working hard
with our interagency partners to prioritize this. To a great
degree, how much we will do will depend a lot on how much
funding we get overall. So the interagency process becomes very
easy if the pie is very big. It becomes harder as scarce
resources are competed over. That is the nature of the beast, I
am afraid. I certainly anticipate that going forward. There
will be close coordination on an interagency basis in setting
those priorities. Ultimately, though, at least as currently
structured it is INL money that is being funded, and INL has
its own sets of procedures in the end to distribute those.
Mr. Langevin. So do you need, though, an interagency
coordinating body at the helm of this Merida Initiative to make
sure that, you know, it stays on track and you have the
cooperation that we need to go forward to make the program
effective?
Mr. Rosenzweig. The existing processes will, I think, have
to suffice at this point. I can't envision the creation of a
formal coordinating structure at this point. So the existing
processes will no doubt provide us a venue for providing the
input we want.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you.
Mr. Johnson. Congressman, I would just add one thing to
what Paul said. I think there actually has been an
extraordinary degree of cooperation among the interagency law
enforcement and national security team on this. Working through
the initial assessment, working through how the implementation
is to be done. I am, as someone who is the veteran of some arms
control interagency groups, I have kind of marvelled at how we
see a common purpose and we are working together. So I am
pleased.
Now the--Paul is right though. This is a foreign assistance
program and it is not INL money. It is the Secretary of State's
foreign assistance account. So ultimately, she has to make
those, you know, end-of-the-day determinations. But her charge
to me is to work in full cooperation with the entire
interagency community. Where the arguments really tend to come
down are between law enforcement agencies rather than between
me and Paul.
So it is a matter of dealing with the economic problem of
scarcity, which always exists. But I think we have done a good
job thus far. When and as we are provided with the appropriated
funds, we intend to make whatever changes are required because
of that, but to do it working as a team there as well.
In terms of the acquisition process, this will be done the
same way government procurements are done in other projects as
well, if possible on a competitive basis. If there is indeed a
sole source which is argued for because of the unique nature of
equipment, we will do that. But we will sharpen our pencil just
as hard as we can because we want this money to go as far as we
can make it go. There will indeed be private sector teams
involved where appropriate, particularly on the training for
highly technical equipment, so that the equipment can be
operated effectively.
At the same time we will be bringing in those, such as DHS,
who operate the similar equipment in the United States so that
they can build those relationships and profit from the data
that is generated. Thank you.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. Mr. McCaul from Texas for 5 minutes.
Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank the
witnesses for being here today.
In my judgment, the situation at the border, U.S.-Mexico
border, presents an imminent threat to the security of this
Nation. Before running for Congress, I had served in the
Justice Department. In the U.S. Attorney's office, I was the
chief of counterterrorism and I had a large portion of the
Mexican border in my jurisdiction. Even then we could see the
threat from the drug cartels controlling the routes into this
country, exporting the drugs, the human trafficking.
In the post-9/11 world, this threat increased in terms of
what is coming into this country. I think we have done a lot
but I think the best defense is a good offense sometimes. I
think if we can take this fight to the drug cartels directly
through a military strategy, that that will get to the route
cause of so many of the problems that we have on the border.
Congressman Cuellar and I went down to Mexico City on a
Homeland Security delegation, met with President Calderon, and
I was struck by the sincerity of the political will to actually
get something done in terms of security. His dedication of
30,000 troops to the border is significant, and he asked for
our assistance.
At the same time we have law enforcement on our side who
are outgunned and outmanned. On the Foreign Affairs Committee
on which I serve, we marked up this initiative, and I had an
amendment that will provide equal funding for law enforcement
on this side of the border, primarily through the DOJ process,
Operation Streamline and other programs. But I have two
questions, one obviously to DHS, one to the State Department.
What is DHS's role in all this? It seems to me that--and
Madam Chair, I hope this comes through this committee so we
have a chance to mark this up and show some oversight on this
initiative. But it seems to me that we ought to be also talking
about providing funding to the Department of Homeland Security
to provide a more comprehensive border security strategy on
both sides. You know, if we can hit the drug cartels on the
Mexican side and then provide the resources necessary to defend
us, defend our side of the border, in my view, that is the best
strategy. If you wouldn't mind commenting on that.
To the State Department, you know--this isn't new. We have
done this before. To some extent, what we did in Colombia is
very similar to what this plan is. If you could, Mr. Johnson,
talk about to me about the package for anticorruption. A lot of
my constituents are concerned about the corruption in Mexico
and how this would be dealt with. Also what type of metrics you
would use to quantify success here. We were successful in doing
this in Colombia. It seems to me if we are doing this right we
can be successful in this initiative as well.
Mr. Rosenzweig. I couldn't agree with you more that our
approach to the border requires a cooperative relationship
across it. We have, through operational programs that I
described earlier BEST, Armas Cruzadas, OASISS, begun doing
that often in cooperation with our Department of Justice
colleagues. We run--our ICE colleagues run many cross-border
counternarcotics operations in conjunction with DEA. Our ICE
colleagues work with ATF on cross-border firearms trafficking
as well.
To the extent that you are speaking about operational
activities, that funding comes out of our existing
appropriations, DHS's existing appropriations. Like any good
bureaucrat, I can always use more. Send more, and we will put
it to good use.
Mr. McCaul. Can I follow up? I would like your specific
recommendation. If this committee decide to authorize more
funding for this side of the border for Federal law enforcement
and State and local, what your proposal would be for that
funding. I will yield back.
Mr. Rosenzweig. Can I get you a--I mean, obviously we have
of a long detailed wish list of things ranging from operation
firewall, which is an ICE counter-arms program that could grow
more funding. OASISS only covers portions of the border now.
With enhanced funding it could operationally fund--be extended
from Brownsville to San Diego. Those sorts of things. You know,
formal requests for money have to be cleared through the Office
of Management and Budget.
Mr. McCaul. I understand. But if you could get back to me.
Mr. Johnson, I am running out of time, but I would like to get
your response to the corruption issue.
Mr. Johnson. Yes. Mr. Congressman, on the corruption
question we are highly focused on that. A significant element
of the first-year proposal for Mexico will allow us to train
Mexican law enforcement so that it can do its own polygraph and
background investigations ultimately for the entire Mexican
police force. Initially, we will be building vetted units so
that we are more sure of who we are dealing with on the
informational side. But we will be moving that process as
rapidly as we can, assisting the Mexicans in their own vetting
process. But I think the larger issue is the real reform of the
justice system in Mexico. There is a portion of this which also
provides for a citizen complaint system so that there is a
greater transparency and a greater trust in the rule of law in
Mexico. We have a broader program which is changing in
cooperation with the political courage that President Calderon
has shown, changing their justice system so that it is
adversarial and open rather than based on submission or briefs
and a decision behind closed doors so that the Mexican people
and indeed we can see justice being done.
There is already a pilot program and a shift has already
been done in the Mexican State of Chihuahua since the first of
this year. We believe that--that type of openness and
transparency and real change in the rule of law in Mexico holds
our best hope for the long run. I think that will show your
constituents the ability to see a less corrupt----
Mr. McCaul. The end-use monitoring in this package was used
in Colombia successfully?
Mr. Johnson. Yes. It will be the same type of end-use
monitoring.
Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Sanchez. I just wanted to let the gentleman from Texas
know that we did request a sequential referral to this
committee but unfortunately went only to Foreign Affairs and
Judiciary. The parliamentarian didn't see it as being as
important to----
Mr. McCaul. That is unfortunate.
Ms. Sanchez. Yes. Extremely unfortunate. Yes, Mr. Souder.
Mr. Souder. Would you be open and our Chairman and Ranking
Member to requesting that to be changed? It is inconceivable
that we could be doing an initiative like this and not account
for the border, and it not being part of an initiative is just
inconceivable.
Ms. Sanchez. If my friend from Indiana is asking, should
we, in an effort together and hopefully with the Chairman and
the Ranking Member of the full committee, ask that this be
looked at again and ask for sequential, I would be more than
willing. I mean, I began with the question of will there be any
moneys coming to Department of Homeland Security? My biggest
issue--I mean I would like to solve the whole problem. But you
know, excuse me, we have had a drug war on our hands since
when, before Reagan? We don't seem to be getting control of
this.
So you know, it has gone to the border and it is spilling
over into the United States. We have got to stop this from
happening. The Department of Homeland Security has to be funded
and has to be doing this. I think it would be a great idea to
do that sequential request.
Mr. Souder. If I may make one other comment. I have worked
with INL for my entire career and the Department of State on
international. But CBP Air funds do not go through INL. The
State Department makes a decision who gets how many on the
ground, when money goes to a foreign government, they work with
that. But if there is going to be involvement of the Department
of Homeland Security, there are different funding streams and
not all those funding streams go.
I also find it extraordinary in Mr. Langevin's questions
nor in your statement or my question did anybody refer to the
Office of National Drug Control Policy. We created a drug czar
who is supposed to be a coordinating agency. Where are they?
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Mr. Souder. I will now recognize
Mr. Green of Texas for 5 minutes.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to compliment you
on hosting an outstanding hearing. Mr. Ranking Member as well,
thank you. I thank the witnesses for appearing.
The Merida----
Ms. Lofgren. Very good.
Mr. Green. Thank you. Merida plan, if you will, called such
because it was consummated in Merida, Mexico, has evolved into
two bills. One in the House and one in the Senate. The one in
the Senate worth about $100 million and it includes money for
Haiti. The one in the House worth about $61.5 million with
money for Haiti and other countries as well. This is
exclusively for these countries as an additional $400 million
in the House bill and an additional $300 million I believe--
$350 million in the Senate bill.
I am mentioning Haiti because--I know that your plate is
full--but because this has evolved into a look at or an
opportunity, I believe, to try to combat this problem in the
hemisphere as opposed to isolated in one area. I just want to
mention to you something about Haiti because I just visited
Haiti. For those who may not be aware, Haiti has an
unemployment rate of about 66 percent.
The poverty rate is 80 percent. Seventy percent of the
people live off of less than $2 a day. About 56 percent of the
people live off of less than $1 per day. It has the highest
HIV/AIDS rate in the western hemisphere. We have four seasons.
Haiti has five. In addition to the four that we have, Haiti has
a hunger season. A hunger season. When people prognosticate
that people will be hungry and that some may perish.
I mention this because we met with President Preval. He
indicated what I am hearing with reference to President
Calderon, a desire to have an assistance from the U.S.
Government to help with the drug trafficking. Haiti is becoming
a station, if you will, between the United States and other
places for drug dealers to stage their activities. He has given
the same clarion call for help, and I am very pleased to see
that there are moneys going to Haiti to provide some
assistance.
We have a big problem. It is one that requires a
comprehensive security plan that includes what you are doing
combined with what is happening at the border itself,
coordinated among all of the various entities that can make
this work for us because it is not just--while I want us to
deal with the land border, there also is the border between
Haiti and the United States that we have to concern ourselves
with too. We have all of this to police to protect the American
people.
So my question to you is, can you give me as quickly as you
can because my time is quickly moving, some indication of how
we are doing with the Haitian portion of what this has evolved
into?
Mr. Johnson. Congressman, thank you very much. The threat
of export of--particularly of cocaine is not just in Haiti, but
because of the behavior of the Venezuelan government in
particular in allowing its border region to be used as a
transit zone has affected the entire island of Hispaniola, also
the Dominican Republic. So we have programs in both sides of
the island to help deal with this. They are not large. The
moneys that you mentioned that are in, I believe, the Senate
bill that are directed to Haiti and the Dominican Republic are
not part of the administration's proposal. So we do not yet
have developed programs as to how those moneys might be spent.
Anything I would say to you today would be speculative but----
Mr. Green. Let me say this then, given that I have 19
seconds. I trust that the plans will be developed because one
of the great human tragedies of our time is occurring just off
the coast of Florida in Haiti. It is a staging area now. It is
going to evolve into more if we don't do more.
Final comment is this: We have to deal with the movers with
two methodologies. One, arrest, lock up, punish. But we also
have to deal with those who are prospective movers. We need,
Madam Chair, in some of our cities, major urban areas, some job
programs for young people, for people who find themselves
without opportunities and who may engage in some activities
that I don't condone. I think you can be poor and not be a
criminal. But it seems that poverty is attracting a lot of
people into criminality.
So my contention is this: It is bigger than what we are
talking about today, although this is what we have to deal with
today. I respect what you are doing. But this is a major, major
concern in the inner cities of this country because the movers
that we are dealing with today can be replaced with persons
from areas of the country that we live in, and I think that has
to be dealt with.
Mr. Rosenzweig. Madam Chairman, can I just briefly?
Congressman, I don't want to leave you with the misimpression
that DHS is not engaged in Haiti. We have a number of people
there, many of whom are doing precisely the counternarcotics
strengthening already, even in the absence of the Merida
Initiative that you are talking about, we have a substantial
number of Coast Guard presence, ICE presence who are working in
the region with the Haitian government. I would be happy at
some juncture to come and give you more detail about precisely
what we are doing there.
As with Merida, we could always use more resources to
provide that sort of assistance. But I wouldn't want you to
feel or mistakenly believe that we are not as concerned about
Haiti as you are. I have a unit that focuses exclusively on the
Caribbean and the main place that is on their mind is Haiti
right now.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Mr. Green. Then I would just
mention that as you know, I am a big supporter of the jobs
programs for our youth. I am very disappointed that it has been
cut out from the supplemental and we will do everything we can.
I agree with you, especially when we see an area like yours
down there in Houston where it is much better for us to employ
these youths than for drug cartels to ensnare them. So I thank
you for bringing that up, although it is not really our
jurisdiction here.
Mr. Cuellar for 5 minutes.
Mr. Cuellar. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank you
and the Ranking Member, Mr. Souder for the leadership that you
all provided.
When we talk about the Merida Initiative, we have to keep
in mind, as you know, that it involves not only Mexico, but
also Central America. We have one of the Central American
ambassadors here with us. We have to keep in mind the big
picture here. We appreciate the leadership that you have. This
year is an important year for me because back about 3 years ago
we started talking about border violence. Being from Laredo, we
understand what has been happening. I think some of you all are
veterans of this. We appreciate your leadership. We started off
with an issue there in northern Laredo right across with the
missing Americans. We had about 60 missing Americans that
actually--some of them, you know, because they happened to be
in the wrong place, some of them because either they or the
family were involved, went over, across the river and never
showed up again. Some of them did show up. But some of them
have been missing.
We appreciate the State Department through Ambassador Garza
and the kidnapping task force that y'all helped set up that I
think have finally opened up some of the investigations in
Mexico. We appreciate that.
But seeing that back in 2005, my office, we helped start a
couple of things. One, we started the first BEST program, my
office put together ICE and ATF and other folks, and I know
that now y'all can expand that to other cities, and we
appreciate that. But we also passed some legislation that
established a border violence task force that I hope that y'all
can look at. We certainly want to work with you.
It is authorized, but like Michael McCaul said, we have got
to do our share on this side also because it works with our
Federal, State and local and of course our counterparts across
the river. So we appreciate that. We also have to look at some
of the tools that have been available to us. For example, the
FBI Gang Intelligence Center. I think we put in $10 million
that helps track gangs that come across the border, whether
they are from Central America, from Mexico or U.S.-based,
wherever they are from. We have got to look at some of those
whether it is the border violence task force, whether it is the
expansion of the BEST program. I know there are other programs
up there. Or the Gang Intelligence Center that we are spending
$10 million a year right now. We have to look at those tools.
But the bottom line is, I am really excited because I
actually--we started the--I guess the first initiative. We call
it the Merida Initiative. The President is impressed and we
appreciate that. But we actually filed House bill 502 back in
January 2007 that--we did this because being from the border,
we have seen this. I am glad that the rest of the Nation is
finally picking up an issue that we have been looking at. Being
at Laredo right at the border, we have seen this. My brother
was a narcotics agent with the State for 25 years. He used to
tell me, it is difficult sometimes working with the Mexican
side because sometimes you don't know who is a good apple and
who is the bad apple. But it is one of those things that that
intelligence is so important to us.
So I just want to emphasize the intelligence part of it.
The information that you work with them because it is very,
very, very important that we continue doing this. But I would
ask you to do a couple of things, one is the border task force,
the kidnapping because I mean, we started the first BEST
program, the border violence task force. I am a big supporter
of this Merida Initiative. But we still can't forget that there
are still some families that still have--their family members
are missing. So whatever y'all can do to pressure the Mexican
side. I know I have talked to Ambassador Garza and he has done
great. But anything that you can to do to help with the missing
Americans, I would appreciate that you help us with that part.
My question is, do y'all have anything or are you even
aware of the missing Americans, Mr. Johnson?
Mr. Johnson. Congressman, I am certainly aware of the
effort that Ambassador Garza has undertaken, working with the
Mexicans and working with law enforcement on this side of the
border to bring that issue to the fore. It is not part of this
initiative, if you will. We have not included you know some
aspect of it. On the other hand, the types of things that are
part of this initiative will help us build the rule of law so
that we can support the very thing that you are talking about
and make the border safer.
If I could, I would like your permission to look into how
more specifically the efforts we have here would reinforce the
search for the missing and get back to you on that.
Mr. Cuellar. Appreciate that. Madam Chair, thank you very
much.
Ms. Sanchez. I thank the gentleman from Laredo. I believe
next on the list will be Ms. Lofgren for 5 minutes. Welcome.
Ms. Lofgren. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I think this
Initiative is an important one and I agree that there are so
many different elements that need to be addressed. Certainly
Mexico has done more than we have in some of these areas. I
mean, to completely ban precursor chemicals, we haven't done
that. Certainly, I admire their efforts to bring transparency
and reform of their criminal justice system. I mean, that is a
difficult thing to do and something that they are moving
forward on. It is quite admirable.
When you think about the number of people that have been
lost in Mexico in the fights with the drug cartels, it is
thousands of people have lost their lives in this fight. So
certainly those are important efforts they are making. I
personally believe that we have an obligation to cooperate with
Mexico. We are interdependent with them. I mean, we share the
North American continent with them. It is our Americans who are
consuming the drugs moving across the northern border. But I
want to focus--and I know it is not the only issue. But when I
met with the Mexican attorney general last year, it was an
issue he raised, the flow of arms south to them which is just
completely unacceptable. I know your testimony touched briefly
on that. But I would like to focus on what more we need to do.
I mean, it is not just you know handguns and rifles. I mean, it
is machine guns. It is even, you know, shoulder missiles. I
mean, it is unacceptable. Some of it is, you know,
interdiction. But I think we need to do a more aggressive job
of what kind of things are available for export because it is
making their job almost impossible. Can either one of you
address that?
Mr. Rosenzweig. Let me take a swing at that for starters.
The flow of arms and weaponry southward is of grave concern to
the Mexicans and of equally grave concern to us. The current
American structure of law divides responsibility for arms
trafficking. ATF is a domestic enforcement agency in the
Department of Justice. ICE, through its authorities, is the
investigative authority for cross-border international arms
smuggling. They work cooperatively together since, you know,
frankly most every domestic violation that goes south is an
international violation.
Ms. Lofgren. Right.
Mr. Rosenzweig. And vice versa. Obviously in the end, the
Department of Justice does the prosecutorial work. Amongst the
things that could be funded under Merida that would expand our
efforts are things ranging from nonintrusive inspection devices
that would allow us to look inside containers more readily, K-9
units, some of who can be trained for explosive detection which
is effective. Expansion of ICE's training programs south of the
border and its cooperative relationships. All of them, of
course, I think in partnership with ATF who has a commensurate
interest.
But what we see kind of as the core of what we need to do
at DHS is bring together both of the responsible U.S. agencies
plus, I should add, the Intelligence Community. We have
established an arms trafficking intelligence subunit at epic to
focus precisely on this problem.
Ms. Lofgren. If we had additional resources, would we
accomplish more?
Mr. Rosenzweig. Always. I mean, no good bureaucrat can say
no. This program, there are a number of initiatives that we can
take in terms of our weapons interdiction efforts. Cooperative
programs with Mexican Customs, since one of their main lacks is
lack of capacity to screen southbound traffic, as I am sure you
know being a Californian, we don't screen outbound traffic at
all.
Ms. Lofgren. But these weapons are being acquired in the
United States for transit.
Mr. Rosenzweig. That is precisely why this is clearly an
issue that requires a partnership between the domestic side of
the House for finding the illegal manufacturers who are making
the--the gun licensers or manufacturers who are making the
sales here, linking it up to the intelligence about the cross-
border. We have found generally that the border is a great
choke point to do the interdiction because, of course, it is
there that any smuggler confronts some authority, in this
instance, a Mexican one. But we want to ensure that all of the
components are engaged. I guess one of the issues that we
haven't discussed is, there are some pieces of the draft House
bill, authorization bill that seem to ignore the international
component of this trafficking and focus exclusively on the
domestic side. So you know, in the end I imagine we will want
to work to try and encompass all of those authorities.
Ms. Lofgren. My time is running out. I will just advance
the opinion that America would be safer if we used more of our
resources on this weapons situation instead of, you know,
chasing down and arresting busboys and nannies. I mean, it is
just a ridiculous priority compared to the drug violence and
the problem that we have with weapons. I think my----
Ms. Sanchez. I believe the assistant secretary--I believe
he has a comment for you, Ms. Lofgren.
Mr. Johnson. Madam Chairman, if I could just make one
point. At least in part because of the attention this issue has
drawn because of the development of this initiative, we have
identified $5 million in seized asset funding which has allowed
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to move forward with modifying
their e-trace system so that it is more accessible for Spanish
surname conventions. We have also made that database accessible
not just in the embassy in Mexico City but in all of our
consulates in Mexico, giving Mexican law enforcement a greater
opportunity to use that system and that database in order to
trace weapons that have been seized in Mexico. Thank you.
Ms. Sanchez. Mr. Souder.
Mr. Souder. One of the things that is unique about the
challenge with Mexico, it is somewhat there in the Caribbean
where it is just a water border. But because there is a land
border, it isn't just like every other traditional
international area that we work with. Trying to figure out how
we handle this jurisdictionally here, how we handle it in our
different agencies is a different challenge. I think looking at
how we do the best teams--the IBET teams and this type of
thing, I mean, ask, are those all run through the State
Department?
Mr. Rosenzweig. No, sir. Those are operational programs
that are generally funded out of operational mission
authorities within the Department of Homeland Security and
likewise within Justice, ATF.
Mr. Souder. But they work internationally?
Mr. Rosenzweig. They work in a cooperative arrangement with
international. We have Mexican officials who are members of--
liaison officers who are partners of our BEST teams, for
example. We have Canadian officers as well on the northern
border.
Mr. Souder. The challenge here is that the funding stream
determines how the decisions are made and where it goes
through. In other words, if it is going directly to another
government, it goes through the State Department. But if it is
going to ICE and then ICE, do you fund in the IBET and BEST
programs any law enforcement in Mexico or Canada? Do you
provide any training? Those funds that you do, do they run
through the State Department or are they run directly through
you?
Mr. Rosenzweig. Well as you said, the training and
technical assistance funding that goes directly to a foreign
government traditionally goes through the State Department. In
terms of BEST and ICE, we do provide what I would call some
collateral funding. We fund travel and funding for Mexicans to
join us at BEST centers, for example, on our side of the
border. We pay for that. But we don't fund--we do not fund--we
are not permitted to fund actual operations of the Mexican
Federal police or Mexican Customs or any of the other
operational agencies. So the answer to your question is yes to
a small degree, but it is generally a collateral expenditure of
funding. It is not the be-all and end-all of the organization.
Mr. Souder. This shows the problem we have with this
committee is, is that unless there is some kind of
jurisdictional overlap with international, we can't, in fact,
impact the border much. One of my concerns as is all of us but
Mr. Cuellar has raised it constantly, the cane and the cane is
on both sides. But that means in order to address the cane
issue on the Mexican side, that would actually have to go
through State Department. We have to have some kind of a way
that we are dealing with a unified border and cross-checking
and so on to figure out how Homeland Security is going to
interrelate with the State Department because I understand why
the funding goes that direction. But we have to sort out how
this is going to be done if we are actually going to secure our
land border.
Ms. Sanchez. Well, I would agree with you and I think we
need to visit that again. When I read the Initiative, it is so
slanted away from Department of Homeland Security that, you
know, I can almost see it like a stepchild begging for a dollar
or two to get something done when the reality is operationally
speaking, this is where the rubber hits the road. So I think we
need to think about how we can work on that together, Mr.
Souder.
I thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony and the
members for their questions. The Members of the subcommittee,
you may have additional questions for the witnesses. We will
ask you to respond expeditiously in writing to those questions.
Having no further business, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
Thank you, gentlemen.
[Whereupon, at 11:37 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Questions From Hon. Loretta Sanchez for Paul Rosenzweig, Acting
Assistant Secretary, Office of International Affairs and Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security
June 5, 2008
Question 1. Under the Merida Initiative, DHS and its components
would provide a significant amount of assets and technical expertise.
Because of the large investment DHS would be making, it is extremely
important that the Department is involved in every step of the planning
and implementation of the Initiative. What can be done to improve the
communication channels among all the different departments involved in
administration of the Merida Initiative? Would it be beneficial to have
an interagency coordinating body at the helm of the Merida Initiative?
Answer. The Merida Initiative was developed through a collaborative
interagency process in which DHS has been involved from the outset. As
the administration begins to implement the Merida Initiative, it will
be important to continue the active and collaborative interagency
process that has so far governed development of this Initiative.
Although Merida Initiative funding comes from Department of State
foreign assistance accounts, we all recognize that it is important that
all departments and agencies involved in implementing the various
programs are active participants in the process that determines
implementation decisions.
Question 2. What Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel
will be used to support the Merida Initiative in Mexico? Will private
contractors be utilized and, if so, how? Will DHS or the State
Department be responsible for private contractors for DHS-related
Merida programs?
Answer. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will support
Merida-related activities in Mexico through multiple components and
offices. In Washington, DC, personnel from the Office of Policy,
supported by component subject-matter experts, will continue to work
with the interagency steering group to ensure the Merida Initiative is
efficiently and effectively administered. In Mexico, personnel from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG)--as well as
our new DHS Attache position--will actively engage both U.S. and
Mexican partners to implement Merida-related programs on the ground.
Though ICE, CBP, and USCG will bear a majority of DHS's responsibility
in the actual implementation of the Merida Initiative, other DHS
component and offices will be included when their specific expertise is
needed. DHS will rely heavily on its personnel at the U.S. Embassy in
Mexico as Merida is implemented.
With regard to the role of contractors, DHS defers to the
Department of State (DOS), which is the agency to which Merida funding
has been appropriated.
Question 3. As we help our neighbors to the south enhance their
efforts to combat criminal organizations, we must also make our
southwest border more secure. If the Merida Initiative is successful,
what type of changes do you anticipate seeing in the way DHS secures
the border?
Answer. Successful implementation of the Merida Initiative will
allow DHS to strengthen the management and implementation of border-
related programs through training, technology and equipment. DHS
anticipates that regional cooperation with our partners will serve as a
force-multiplier to combat transnational crime and aid in prioritizing
resources more effectively.
The Merida Initiative will enhance DHS abilities regarding
communications and coordination capabilities with foreign counterpart
agencies, through improved information sharing and relationship
building. Increased cooperation and strengthened information sharing
among the United States, Mexico, and Central American countries will
produce a more rapid response on critical and time sensitive
information addressing both specific events and organized criminal
enterprises engaged in human and/or drug trafficking and other illegal
activities.
Question 4a. In your testimony, you stated that Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) was initiating Operation Armas Cruzadas to
combat the smuggling of weapons from the United States into Mexico. How
would implementation of the Merida Initiative affect Armas Cruzadas?
Answer. The Merida Initiative funding is designed as assistance to
our southern neighbors and thus cannot legally address U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) domestic role in the area of firearms
and weapons smuggling, nor can it legally allocate any additional
resources or funding for ICE's outbound firearms smuggling efforts.
While ICE's domestic efforts in this area cannot be funded through the
Merida Initiative, they will certainly complement the goals we are
striving to achieve under Merida. At the same time, some of the funding
under Merida is designed to go to the purchase of non-intrusive
inspection equipment for the government of Mexico, which has indicated
that they plan to use some of this equipment to inspect incoming
shipments for any contraband, be it weapons, bulk cash, etc. Operation
Armas Cruzadas was launched utilizing current ICE assets dedicated to
southwest border violence, and has not received any additional
resources or funding for domestic and international personnel
positions, or specialized equipment.
Question 4b. How does ATF's Project Gunrunner relate to Armas
Cruzadas?
Answer. We understand that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives' (ATF's) Operation Gunrunner is a domestic southwest
border firearms violence and trafficking strategy to focus resources in
order to combat firearms violence, violent offenders, and firearms and
ammunition trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border. We also understand
that the Operation Gunrunner strategy utilizes the results of firearms
trace information and statistics (from both within the United States
and from our southern neighbors) to target potential domestic firearms-
related violations, such as corrupt Federal firearms licensees (FFLs).
We respectfully refer you to ATF for additional details about this
project.
ICE's Operation Armas Cruzadas seeks to enhance a timely,
systematic intelligence-sharing cycle to drive interdictions and
investigations in an effort to identify, disrupt, and dismantle trans-
border criminal networks that smuggle weapons from the United States
into Mexico. This initiative focuses on conventional investigative
processes relating to cross-border smuggling organizations, as well as
implementing an expanded rapid information-sharing conduit between U.S.
and government of Mexico (GoM) key stakeholders.
We believe that both ATF's Project Gunrunner and ICE's Armas
Cruzadas are complementary and will work in tandem--as well as with the
Merida Initiative--to stop the flow of arms southward from the United
States. These programs all complement the government of Mexico's own
efforts in this area.
Question 4c. Is training or equipment provided to Mexican law
enforcement agencies under the Merida Initiative that would affect
Armas Cruzadas? If yes, what are they?
Answer. DHS continues to work closely with the Department of State
in regard to the implementation of the Merida Initiative. Some funding
under the Merida Initiative will purchase non-intrusive inspection
equipment for the government of Mexico, which has indicated that they
plan to use some of this equipment to inspect incoming shipments for
any contraband, be it weapons, bulk cash, etc. We believe that by
working together on both sides of the border, we can improve the
cooperation, communication, and success of both countries' efforts to
reduce the flow of arms southward.
Questions From Hon. Loretta Sanchez for David T. Johnson, Assistant
Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, Department of State
Question 1. While the State Department currently has the lead for
the administration on the Merida Initiative, the plan calls for
significant contributions by the Department of Homeland Security.
Furthermore, DHS has the largest presence on the U.S.-Mexico border of
any Federal agency, and often has established working relationships
with its Mexican counterparts. What has the State Department done to
bring the Department of Homeland Security into the planning process for
Merida? Does the administration have an interagency coordination and
communication process for Merida? If so, please describe that process.
Answer. The Merida Initiative was designed as a regional approach
that builds on activities already underway in the region. It also
complements ongoing U.S. efforts to stop the flow of arms and weapons,
to confront the very serious threat of transnational crime in Mexico
and Central America, and to reduce drug demand. We believe that
confronting these challenges requires these efforts not just on both
sides of the border, but among our Nation's national security and law
enforcement agencies. The Department of Homeland Security and other
agencies have been included in the interagency planning process from
the beginning, including involvement in the validation teams that
traveled to Mexico as part of the development of the Merida Initiative.
DHS will play an important role in the implementation of Merida, which
is expected to build on already existing relationships between U.S.,
Mexican, Central American, Haitian, and Dominican Republic law
enforcement agencies. For example, we have consulted and coordinated
with other U.S. agencies to identify appropriate subject matter experts
(both U.S. direct hires and contractors) to provide the technical
advice and training that is at the heart of this Initiative. Moreover,
we will continue to work with our interagency partners to see that our
foreign assistance is utilized properly, that appropriate financial
controls are in place, that program objectives enhance our own law
enforcement objectives, and that the projects and programs are operated
as efficiently as possible with stringent end-use monitoring.
The Department of State has taken the lead on interagency
coordination, including actively engaging other agencies in the
planning process. The Department plans to continue this process in the
implementation phase of the Initiative.
Question 2. When will an implementation plan that defines protocols
and directives and coordinates efforts between the State Department and
other U.S. Government agencies be finalized? Are other U.S. Government
agencies involved in the drafting of this implementation plan? If so,
which agencies and how are they involved?
Answer. We have engaged all aspects of our national security and
law enforcement effort in our planning and we will continue to rely on
experience and expertise across the Federal Government during the
program's implementation. Elements of the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of Justice, USAID, and the Department of
Defense have played a very strong role in the planning stages and we
will continue to work closely with them as we move toward program
implementation, both in Washington and at the various U.S. embassies.
The fiscal year 2008 supplemental requires the Secretary of State
to submit a spending plan to Congress within 45 days of enactment. The
bill was signed into law on Monday, June 30. The spending plan will
also include a strategy for combating drug trafficking and related
violence and organized crime, judicial reform, institution building,
anti-corruption, and rule of law activities with concrete goals,
actions to be taken, budget proposals, and anticipated results. This
reporting requirement will be carried out in close consultation with
our interagency partners.
Question 3. Some have expressed concern that the Merida Initiative
does not include adequate benchmarks to determine the efficacy of the
program, which would undermine efforts to combat corruption or
inappropriate activity related to Merida funding. How will the State
Department develop benchmarks to evaluate the successes and failures of
Merida? Will the benchmarks measure the overall success of Merida, or
each program? Which U.S. Government agencies will be involved in the
development of the benchmarks? Will the Mexican Government develop
their own benchmarks to measure the successes and failures of their own
agencies under the Merida Initiative?
Answer. The State Department has already led U.S. interagency
discussions on performance measurements for the Merida Initiative. We
have developed a series of strategic goals and objectives in close
consultation with both the U.S. interagency community as well as the
Government of Mexico.
The preliminary document we provided to Congress outlining these
goals and the indicators of success will need to be realigned to
reflect changes in the training and equipment provided to Mexico as a
result of the congressionally approved funding level, as well as what
the government of Mexico has acquired through its own funding since the
President's initial request. We would be happy to share this with you
and your staff once it has been adjusted to reflect the appropriated
funding levels. Again, we will work in close consultation with the
governments of Mexico and Central America, as well as the U.S.
interagency community, to develop those indicators that we think best
demonstrate success under the Merida Initiative.
Question 4. Some have expressed concerns about similarities between
the Merida Initiative and Plan Colombia. Are there any ``lessons-
learned'' that we can take from Plan Colombia and apply to the Merida
Initiative?
Answer. There are significant differences between Plan Colombia and
the Merida Initiative. Plan Colombia had components, such as
eradication and the fight against armed groups seeking to overthrow the
state that the Merida Initiative does not address. The Merida
Initiative is focused more on law enforcement development programs with
the vast majority of resources flowing to civilian institutions.
However, several important lessons can be taken from our experience
in Colombia. First, the fight against drug trafficking and organized
crime is not simply a matter of eradication or interrupting the transit
of illicit goods. Organized criminal organizations today seek to
control institutions of the state through violence and corruption. To
address that, we are working with Mexico and the countries of Central
America on building institutions that respond efficiently and
democratically to the legitimate needs of communities and
municipalities. These institutions must be transparent and accountable
if they are to displace organized crime. Therefore, our approach with
our Mexican and Central American partners involves attacking not only
the leaders of organized crime, but also the financial and personal
networks these leaders use to manage their criminal networks.
Another lesson is the importance of working with communities to
counter the negative influence of criminal organizations. This will
require improved communication by authorities with communities in which
the fight against organized crime is being conducted.
Finally, our experience in Colombia has clearly demonstrated the
importance of committed national leadership, as we have seen in
President Uribe. President Calderon and his colleagues in Central
America have also demonstrated strong leadership in confronting these
threats.
Question 5. With respect to the aircraft and helicopters that would
be provided under the Merida Initiative, what is the long-term plan to
ensure that each asset will have the parts and technical support needed
to remain operational? Are there similar concerns regarding other
assets and equipment, and what is the plan to deal with those needs?
Answer. For aviation assets, which have been requested only for
Mexico, we made an effort to support airframes in which Mexico has
already invested to reduce the need for long-term operations and
maintenance support. Our aircraft validation team (composed of
representatives from State, DHS, and DOD) believes the mission is valid
and that the aircraft will be supportable in large part because SEDENA
(Army/Air Force), SEMAR (Navy), and SSP (Secretariat for Public
Security) have the capability to integrate these aircraft into existing
training and maintenance systems.
The assistance package includes spare parts, training, and other
logistical support to facilitate training, operations, and maintenance
for 2 years in the case of helicopters. In developing the package,
consideration was given to the maintenance capability in the receiving
entity, existing infrastructure, and the experiences of the Mexican
units that will receive the equipment. We will also continue to work
with the government of Mexico to tailor the logistics and training
portions of the package to ensure that we have a robust support
arrangement in place.