AFL-CIO, in Letter to US Rep. William Delahunt, Comes Out Against Plan Mexico

Dear Chairman Delahunt:

On behalf of the nearly ten million working men and women of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), I urge, you to oppose the proposed $500 million in security assistance to Mexico – the “Mérida Initiative” – included in the Administration’s FY 2008 supplemental funding request, as well as the additional funding requested for FY 2009.

Copy of AFL-CIO Letter to US Rep. William Delahunt. (for a .pdf of the full document click here)Strengthening the capacity of the Mexican government to fight drug trafficking is an important and legitimate foreign policy objective. However, the strategy proposed by the Administration is ineffective and risks undermining our nation’s commitment to safeguard human rights. Many parts of the proposed aid package – for example, the eight military transport helicopters – are of questionable value in combating drug trafficking, according to drug policy experts.

As leading human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have pointed out, the Mexican security forces have committed many serious human rights violations