	Introduction

For more than a decade, violent crime perpetrated by warring criminal organizations has threatened citizen security and governance in parts of Mexico. Organized crime-related violence has resulted in more than 109,000 killings since December 2006 and contributed to 30,000 disappearances. Although daunting challenges remain, U.S.-Mexican cooperation to improve security and the rule of law has increased significantly as a result of the Mérida Initiative, a bilateral partnership developed by the George W. Bush Administration and the government of Felipe Calderón. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012, vowing to reduce violence in Mexico and adjust U.S.-Mexican security efforts to focus on violence prevention. The 115 th Congress provided $139 million for the Mérida Initiative in the FY2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( P.L. Congress is now considering President Trump's FY2018 budget request, which would cut funding for the Mérida Initiative by $54 million, or 38.8%, compared to the FY2017 estimated funding level (see Table 1 ). Organized crime-related homicides in Mexico rose slightly in 2015 and significantly in 2016. Federal forces operating in the state of Guerrero did not intervene to prevent the September 2014 enforced disappearances and killings of 43 students. Security and Justice Sector Reform

The Peña Nieto government dedicated significant attention and funding (more than $1.2 billion) to support implementation of judicial reforms enacted in 2008, but experts are concerned about whether the government will sustain that support to ensure the system's success. As part of the Mérida Initiative's emphasis on shared responsibility, the Mexican government pledged to tackle crime and corruption and the U.S. government pledged to address domestic drug demand and the illicit trafficking of firearms and bulk currency to Mexico. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly have met twice with their Mexican counterparts and emphasized the importance of partnering with Mexico "to disrupt and destroy the criminal organizations which threaten our citizens, our communities, and our country." From FY2008 to FY2017, Congress appropriated nearly $2.8 billion for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative (see Table 1 for Mérida appropriations, U.S . Assistance to Mexico
Table A-1 for overall assistance to Mexico, and Figure 4 for funding by account). 115-31 ), signed into law on May 5, 2017, provides $139 million for the Mérida Initiative, some $10 million above the Obama Administration's request. Given its previous support for the Mérida program and security cooperation with Mexico, Congress is likely to set its own level of funding for Mérida at a time when Mexico continues to struggle to address violence, corruption, and human abuses and is working closely with the United States on migration enforcement and antidrug efforts. As of March 2017, deliveries stood at more than $1.6 billion. Progress has been made in combating human trafficking, with more data being gathered and cooperation to resolve cross-border cases increasing. In 2015, Mexico's Human Rights Commission estimated that the country's prisons were at 25% over capacity. In the meantime, the State Department has pointed to some indications of success: 
cooperation among law enforcement and intelligence officials that has led to the capture and extradition of top criminal leaders, including Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán; Mexico's transition to an accusatorial justice system with oral trials in June 2016; the improvements in infrastructure and policies that helped more than 55 Mexican correctional facilities (including all federal prisons) achieve international accreditation; and Mexico's apprehension of more than 150,000 Central American migrants in FY2015 and FY2016, as well as migrants from Africa and Asia. In recent years, however, domestic and international human rights groups have vigorously criticized the government's handling of recent high-profile cases of alleged human rights abuses, including those committed by security forces. Seven journalists have been killed thus far in 2017, including award-winning crime reporter Javier Valdez. The FY2018 budget request would cut all of those programs substantially.
Ten years after the Mexican government launched an aggressive, military-led campaign against drug trafficking and organized crime, violent crime continues to threaten citizen security and governance in parts of Mexico, including in cities along the U.S. southwest border. Organized crime-related violence in Mexico declined from 2011 to 2014 but rose in 2015 and again in 2016. Analysts estimate that the violence may have claimed more than 109,000 lives since December 2006. High-profile cases—particularly the enforced disappearance and murder of 43 students in Guerrero in September 2014—have drawn attention to the problem of human rights abuses involving security forces. Numerous cases of corruption by former governors, some of whom have fled the country, have increased concerns about impunity.
Supporting Mexico's criminal justice sector reform efforts is widely regarded as crucial for combating criminality and improving citizen security in the country. U.S. support for those efforts has increased significantly as a result of the development and implementation of the Mérida Initiative, a bilateral partnership launched in 2007 for which Congress has appropriated almost $2.8 billion since FY2008. U.S. assistance to Mexico focuses on (1) disrupting organized criminal groups, (2) institutionalizing the rule of law, (3) creating a 21st-century border, and (4) building strong and resilient communities. Newer areas of focus have involved bolstering security along Mexico's southern border and addressing the production and trafficking of heroin and fentanyl. As of March 2017, more than $1.6 billion of Mérida assistance had been delivered to Mexico.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has continued U.S.-Mexican security cooperation but struggled to contain rising crime. U.S. intelligence has helped Mexico arrest top crime leaders, including Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in February 2014. Guzmán's July 2015 prison escape was a major setback, but he was recaptured in 2016 and extradited to the United States in early 2017. The Peña Nieto government met a 2008 constitutional mandate to transition to an accusatorial justice system by June 2016 but has made minimal progress in preventing torture, enforced disappearances, and other serious human rights abuses. A spate of killings of journalists thus far in 2017 and media reports that the government has spied on journalists and human rights defenders have prompted serious domestic and international concern.
On May 18, 2017, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly met for the second time with their Mexican counterparts and pledged to continue security cooperation with new "strategies to attack the business model" of criminal organizations. President Trump's FY2018 budget request includes $85 million for the Mérida Initiative (a 38.8% decline from the FY2017 estimated appropriation). It is as yet unclear what types of programs would be most affected by potential funding reductions.
Congress provided $139 million in FY2017 for the Mérida Initiative in the FY2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-31), some $10 million above the budget request; it is now considering the FY2018 budget request. The Senate passed a resolution (S.Res. 83) calling for U.S. support for Mexico's efforts to combat illicit fentanyl production and trafficking. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House (H.Res. 268). Bipartisan resolutions that are similar, but not identical, have been introduced in both chambers reiterating the importance of bilateral cooperation (H.Res. 336 and S.Res. 102). Other legislation that has been introduced relates to combating firearms trafficking to Mexico (H.R. 1692). This report will be updated.