[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2979-S2980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 72--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING DRUG 
                         TRAFFICKING IN MEXICO

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Lugar) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 72

       Whereas Mexico is 3 times the size of the State of Texas 
     and has a population of approximately 110,000,000 people;
       Whereas Mexico has the 12th largest economy in the world, 
     with an annual gross domestic product of just under 
     $1,000,000,000,000;
       Whereas Mexico is the 8th largest exporter of crude oil in 
     the world and provides approximately \1/3\ of the oil 
     imported by the United States;
       Whereas Mexico is the 2nd largest buyer of exports from the 
     United States;
       Whereas Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population 
     of any country in the world;
       Whereas there is a tragically consistent demand for heroin, 
     marijuana, methamphetamines, and cocaine from drug users in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the Government of Mexico is locked in an extremely 
     violent struggle against drug trafficking organizations that 
     produce and transport narcotics;
       Whereas the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico are 
     well organized, heavily armed, and wealthy criminal 
     enterprises, with estimated criminal earnings of more than 
     $25,000,000,000 every year;
       Whereas it is estimated that Mexican drug trafficking 
     organizations produce 8 metric tons of heroin and 10,000 
     metric tons of marijuana each year;
       Whereas, in confrontations with the Government of Mexico 
     and with each other, the drug trafficking organizations have 
     adopted tactics intended to intimidate the public at large, 
     corrupt law enforcement officials, and create a perception of 
     increased violence among the people of Mexico;
       Whereas, in 2008, approximately 6,200 people in Mexico died 
     as the result of violence related to drug trafficking, more 
     than twice as many as in 2007;
       Whereas drug-related killings continued in Mexico during 
     2009, and on February 9, 2009, a total of 35 people were 
     killed in drug-related violence in Mexico;
       Whereas drug trafficking organizations in Mexico have 
     brazenly targeted and executed many high-ranking public 
     officials in Mexico;
       Whereas more than 800 police officers and soldiers in 
     Mexico have been killed in the line of duty since late 2006;
       Whereas efforts by the Government of Mexico and the United 
     States Government to combat drug trafficking organizations 
     and power struggles between the drug trafficking 
     organizations themselves have resulted in growing violence 
     along the 2000-mile border between the United States and 
     Mexico;
       Whereas drug-related violence affects cities and towns on 
     both sides of the border, as drug trafficking organizations 
     from Mexico form partnerships with criminal organizations 
     based in the United States;
       Whereas law enforcement authorities in the United States 
     have reported an increase in the number of killings, 
     kidnappings, and home invasions linked to Mexican drug 
     trafficking organizations in a number of cities in the United 
     States, some of which are thousands of miles from the Mexican 
     border;
       Whereas a 2008 report by the Department of Justice 
     indicated that Mexican drug trafficking organizations now 
     operate in 195 cities in the United States;
       Whereas the 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment by the 
     Department of Justice identified drug organizations from 
     Mexico as the greatest criminal threat to the United States;
       Whereas the Government of Mexico is strengthening the 
     institutions of a democratic state that adheres to the rule 
     of law, supports a free press, and is committed to human 
     rights;
       Whereas the inauguration of President Felipe Calderon in 
     December 2006 represented another step forward in the process 
     of strengthening institutions in Mexico;
       Whereas President Calderon has made defeating drug 
     trafficking organizations a top priority of his 
     administration, increasing the security budget of Mexico from 
     $2,000,000,000 in 2006 to $4,000,000,000 in 2008 and 
     deploying nearly 36,000 federal troops to carry out anti-drug 
     operations;
       Whereas the Government of Mexico has undertaken reforms 
     that, together with significant changes to the code of 
     criminal procedure and the penal code, could transform the 
     justice system in Mexico to be more open and transparent, 
     protect human rights, and devote resources to investigating 
     and prosecuting crimes;
       Whereas President Calderon has taken significant steps to 
     crack down on corruption within the police forces and other 
     government institutions of Mexico;
       Whereas officers of the Government of Mexico have succeeded 
     in seizing record quantities of narcotics from drug 
     trafficking organizations;
       Whereas law enforcement officials in Mexico are cooperating 
     with law enforcement agencies in the United States at 
     unprecedented levels, with Mexico extraditing 83

[[Page S2980]]

     major drug traffickers to stand trial in the United States in 
     2007, and another 93 major drug traffickers in 2008;
       Whereas the police and army units of Mexico are often 
     outgunned by members of the drug trafficking organizations, 
     who employ heavy machine guns, high-powered assault weapons 
     such as the AK-47, 0.50 caliber sniper rifles, military hand 
     grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and 
     sophisticated technology like night vision goggles and 
     communication interception devices;
       Whereas a large majority of the weapons and ammunition used 
     by the drug trafficking organizations come from sources in 
     the United States, particularly gun dealers and gun shows in 
     Texas, Arizona, and California;
       Whereas approximately 90 percent of all firearms recovered 
     at crime scenes in Mexico are illicitly trafficked across the 
     border from the United States to Mexico;
       Whereas the people of Mexico and the military and civilian 
     officials of the Government of Mexico have demonstrated 
     tremendous courage in confronting the drug trafficking 
     organizations;
       Whereas the United States Government, along with law 
     enforcement agencies in the United States and Mexico, has 
     escalated its efforts to disrupt the trafficking of 
     narcotics, money, people, and arms across the border and to 
     combat drug trafficking organizations;
       Whereas the United States Government can and should do more 
     to reduce the demand for illegal drugs in the United States 
     and stop the illegal exportation of money and weapons;
       Whereas the efforts by the United States Government to 
     combat trafficking are outlined in the National Drug Control 
     Strategy (2008), the Southwest Border Counternarcotics 
     Strategy (2007), and the U.S. Strategy for Combating Criminal 
     Gangs from Central America and Mexico (2007);
       Whereas, on October 22, 2007, the United States Government 
     and the Government of Mexico announced a multiyear security 
     agreement called the ``Merida Initiative'', which is intended 
     to combat drug trafficking and other criminal activity along 
     the border of the United States and Mexico and in Central 
     America; and
       Whereas Congress has appropriated $465,000,000 for the 
     Merida Initiative, allocating to the Government of Mexico a 
     total of $400,000,000 in equipment, technical assistance, and 
     training in fiscal year 2008, which is now in the process of 
     being delivered: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) Mexico is a key strategic partner of the United States;
       (2) a secure, prosperous, and democratic Mexico is 
     indispensable to the goal of the United States to have 
     prosperity and peace throughout the Americas and the world;
       (3) the people and the Government of Mexico have launched a 
     sustained attack on drug trafficking organizations based in 
     Mexico;
       (4) the increasing violence and criminality of drug 
     trafficking organizations threaten the well-being of the 
     people of the United States and Mexico and pose security 
     challenges to cities and towns in the United States;
       (5) drug-related violence is a ``cross-border'' problem 
     that requires close cooperation between the Government of 
     Mexico and the United States Government;
       (6) the United States Government and the Government of 
     Mexico have a shared interest and responsibility in defeating 
     drug trafficking organizations, and a comprehensive strategy, 
     jointly conceived and executed, is required for significant 
     progress to be made;
       (7) the Senate applauds and fully supports efforts by 
     President Felipe Calderon, the people of Mexico, and the 
     Government of Mexico to confront the drug trafficking 
     organizations, apprehend their members, and bring them to 
     justice;
       (8) the Department of State should--
       (A) ensure prompt delivery of the equipment, technical 
     assistance, and training for which Congress appropriated 
     funds in fiscal year 2008 as part of the Merida Initiative;
       (B) continue to support the Government of Mexico in its 
     efforts to strengthen institutions and the rule of law, root 
     out corruption, and protect human rights; and
       (C) ensure full accountability for all assistance and 
     equipment provided by the United States Government to the 
     Government of Mexico; and
       (9) the United States Government should employ its broad 
     diplomatic and law enforcement resources, in partnership with 
     the Government of Mexico and governments throughout the 
     Americas, to defeat drug-related criminal enterprises.

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