	Introduction

Escalating drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico and the increasing presence of Mexican drug traffickers and Central American gangs in the United States have focused congressional concern on the pace of implementation of the Mérida Initiative. To date, Congress has appropriated some $1.3 billion to support Mérida programs in Mexico, $248 million for Mérida and a new Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) in Central America, and $42 million for Caribbean countries, including funds for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). Detailed strategy documents for CARSI and CBSI are not yet available. However, the Obama Administration included a new four-pillar strategy for U.S.-Mexican security cooperation in its FY2011 budget request, which was more clearly defined after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led a Cabinet-level delegation to Mexico on March 23, 2010. The four pillars of the new bilateral strategy will focus on (1) disrupting organized criminal groups; (2) institutionalizing the rule of law; (3) building a 21 st -century border; and (4) building strong and resilient communities While the first two pillars largely build upon efforts that began under the Bush Administration, pillars three and four broaden the scope of bilateral cooperation to include efforts to facilitate "secure flows" of people and goods through the U.S.-Mexico border and to promote social and economic development in violence-prone communities (see " Beyond the Mérida Initiative " section below). The 111 th Congress is likely to continue overseeing how Mérida and related funds have been used, any planned adjustments in the uses of funds appropriated during the FY2008-FY2010 budget cycles, and the degree to which the Obama Administration's new strategies for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean complement each other and U.S. domestic counterdrug and border security efforts. In response to the Mexican government's request for increased cooperation and assistance, in October 2007 the United States and Mexico proposed the Mérida Initiative, a package of U.S. counterdrug and anticrime assistance to Mexico and Central America. In P.L. As with Mexico, P.L. 111-8 , Congress provided $105 million in funding for Central America subject to similar human rights conditions as in P.L. The Act placed Central America funding into a new Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), which split Central America from the Merida Initiative. 110-252 and again in P.L. The FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( H.R. 111-117 ) provided $37 million for CBSI, of which "not less than" $21 million is to be used for social justice and education programs. On December 3, 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a preliminary report for Congress on the status of funding for the Mérida Initiative. By the end of September 2009, GAO found that $830 million of the $1.3 billion in Mérida funds appropriated for Mexico and Central America had been obligated by the State Department, but only $26 million of the funds had actually been spent. The 111 th Congress has held numerous hearings on the heightened drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico and how to combat the DTOs. The 111 th Congress is closely monitoring the efficacy of assistance provided through the Mérida Initiative and compliance with Mérida's human rights conditions. Mérida supporters described the initiative as a security cooperation partnership against drug traffickers and organized criminal groups, rather than a foreign assistance program. The Administration did not formally announce the new strategy until the Mérida High-Level Consultative Group meeting in Mexico City on March 23, 2010. The Obama Administration has asked for just $8 million in FMF for FY2011. Cooperation with Central America and the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)

A number of policy issues have emerged involving the Central American portion of the Mérida Initiative, which, as of FY2010, has been split away from the Mérida Initiative into a new Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Demining and Related programs (NADR) funds. Conditions on FY2008 Supplemental Assistance for Mérida
Mexico
The FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act ( P.L.
Increasing violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups is threatening citizen security in Mexico and Central America. Drug trafficking-related violence claimed more than 6,500 lives in Mexico in 2009, and several Central American countries have among the world's highest homicide rates. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) dominate the illicit drug market in the United States and are expanding their operations by forming partnerships with U.S. gangs.
On October 22, 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Mérida Initiative, a package of U.S. counterdrug and anticrime assistance for Mexico and Central America that would begin in FY2008 and last through FY2010. Congress has appropriated some $1.3 billion for Mérida programs in Mexico, $248 million for Mérida and related programs in Central America, and $42 million for Caribbean countries in P.L. 110-252, P.L. 111-8, P.L. 111-32, and, most recently, in the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 111-117. Each of these acts contains human rights conditions on 15% of certain law enforcement and military assistance provided to Mexico and Central America. P.L. 111-117 places Central America funding into a new Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), which splits Central America from the Mérida Initiative. The act also provides $37 million for a new Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
Throughout 2009, drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico and the potential threat of spillover along the Southwest border focused congressional concern on the pace of implementation of the Mérida Initiative. On December 3, 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a preliminary report for Congress on the status of funding for the Mérida Initiative. By the end of September 2009, GAO found that $830 million of the $1.3 billion in Mérida funds appropriated for Mexico and Central America as of that time had been obligated by the State Department, but only $26 million of the funds had actually been spent. The pace of implementation has accelerated since that time, with at least $113 million worth of equipment having arrived in Mexico by March 2010, but implementation challenges remain.
The 111th Congress is maintaining a strong interest in how well U.S. agencies and their foreign counterparts are implementing the Mérida Initiative and the degree to which the nations involved are fulfilling their domestic obligations under Mérida. Congress has also monitored enforcement of Mérida's human rights conditions, particularly with respect to Mexico. Congress is playing a role in the design of post-Mérida security cooperation with Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin during its consideration of the Obama Administration's FY2011 budget request. For FY2011, the Administration has asked for $310 million in assistance for Mérida programs in Mexico, $100 million for CARSI, and $79 million for CBSI. Detailed strategy documents for CARSI and CBSI are not yet available, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new strategy for U.S.-Mexican security cooperation after a high-level meeting in Mexico City on March 23, 2010. The plan focuses on (1) disrupting organized criminal groups; (2) institutionalizing the rule of law; (3) building a 21st-century border; and (4) building strong and resilient communities.
This report provides an overview of the funding provided for the Mérida Initiative and related assistance programs in Central America and the Caribbean, the status of Mérida implementation, and a discussion of some policy issues that Congress may consider as it oversees the initiative and related programs.