ID:

507

Date:

2010-05-21

Headline:

'Immediate' US Aid In Drug War Slow To Help Mexico

Reporter's name:

Martha Mendoza and E. Eduardo Castillo

Delay/denial:

No

Lawsuit:

No

Fees:

No

Media outlet:

Associated Press

City:

Mexico City, Mexico

Summary:

The Associated Press (AP) used open-records laws to obtain information showing that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has been slow to provide funding promised to Mexico to reduce violence related to drug cartels. The three-year Merida Initiative saw less than 3 percent of the expected $1.1 billion dollars parceled out in the first two years.

Notes:

The AP filed a FOIA request with the State Department and a parallel request under Mexico's federal public-records law. The Mexican government responded in three weeks with a general description of the budget; the State Department had not responded to the FOIA request when the story went to press, but an anonymous State Department official sent the spreadsheets to the AP - and within a few days, the same information was quietly released as part of a Senate committee report.

Keywords:

Mexico, drugs, Merida Initiative, State Department, violence, Obama Administration, Bush Administration

URL:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/21/AR2010052100805.html

Agencies:

STATE

States:

DC

Districts:

Categories:

foreign affairs
foreign aid