Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08MEXICO3537
2008-12-02 20:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Mexico
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR KCRM MX 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHME #3537/01 3372023
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 022023Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4163
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 003537 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR KCRM MX
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Charles V. Barclay. Reason:
1.4 (b),(d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 003537

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR KCRM MX
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Charles V. Barclay. Reason:
1.4 (b),(d).


1. (SBU) Mission Mexico warmly welcomes you to Mexico City.
With the imminent roll out of the Merida Initiative you are
coming at an excellent time to discuss our bilateral law
enforcement agenda and your visit will accentuate the
importance we place on Mexico as a partner in the war on
drugs and organized crime.

VIOLENCE CONTINUES UNABATED, PRESIDENT SEEKS RESULTS
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) Drug-related violence in Mexico continues unabated.
There have been over 5,000 drug-related killings nationwide
this year, with 669 in October alone, including 71 military
and law enforcement officers. The scope of violence is, at
least in part, evidence that Calderon's aggressive push
against the cartels is having some effect. However, this is
small comfort to Mexican citizens who are fed up with the
climate of fear and insecurity that pervades here.


3. (C) Mexico's president needs to demonstrate concrete
evidence that his efforts are disrupting cartel business
operations and their capacity to further undermine Mexico's
security. He faces major structural hurdles, however. His
demoralized police remain outgunned, and generally
intimidated by the cartels. Security elements are suspicious
of each other and reluctant to cooperate and share
information. Mexico's federal system makes it difficult for
law enforcement elements (merely five percent of the
country's police) to insert themselves into state
jurisdictions. Within Mexico's dysfunctional judiciary, 90-95
percent of crimes do not result in convictions and the
average trial lasts over eight months.


4. (U) President Calderon has responded by deploying Mexico's
military to assist in fighting the cartels, allowing him to
mount major anti-drug operations in ten states. He has
raised pay for the military and replaced a number of
high-ranking federal police officers in an anti-corruption
campaign. He has increased the budget of the security forces
each year since he took office, including a dramatic increase

in the current budget. And he is pushing legislation through
Congress that will introduce oral trials in Mexico for the
first time, add provisions for plea bargaining, reorganize
and rationalize federal policing and impose national
standards on Mexico's disparate federal, state and local
police forces.


5. (U) His efforts have produced results. In 2007 over 23,000
persons involved in drug-related crimes were arrested; over
17,000 have been incarcerated to date in 2008. Since the
beginning of the year over 11 metric tons of cocaine have
been seized, as well as 750,000 kilos of marijuana and 160
kilos of methamphetamine. Arms seizures are also up, from
4,220 in 2006 to 8,877 in 2007 and 11,244 up to October 2008.


MERIDA INITIATIVE ROLLOUT
--------------


6. (SBU) The U.S. is about to insert itself in a major way
into this challenging environment with the impending rollout
of the Merida Initiative. The $400 million of the Merida
Initiative includes a mix of funding administered by our
Narcotics Affairs Section, Economic Support Funds
administered by USAID, and Foreign Military Financing
administered by the Office of Defense Cooperation. The
package includes aviation support, non-intrusive inspection
devices, communications and intelligence systems support, a
robust judicial reform program, training and material support
for specialized and vetted units, polygraph training and
equipment, and continued support to expand Plataforma Mexico,
a program that facilitates information and intelligence
exchanges among the country's law enforcement agencies.


7. (SBU) We have negotiated the key parts of the Letter of
Agreement for Merida with the GOM and we plan to sign it with
the Mexicans on December 3. The NAS in Mexico City is
staffing up to administer Merida and inter-agency
coordination meetings are ongoing within the Law Enforcement
Community to prepare for Merida roll out. Based on
preliminary timelines there are projects which should begin
to bear fruit by the end of the calendar year and by the
spring most of the projects should be underway, although many
are long term in nature and will not yield early results.

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION
--------------


8. (C-Entire Paragraph) Several issues that may come up
during your discussions are:

-- Merida Implementation: We expect Merida funding to be
available in the coming weeks and Embassy officials will
contact their counterparts to discuss project implementation.
We appreciate President Calderon's willingness to partner
with the U.S. and Central America on this initiative and will
seek to gain the earliest impact from these funds. We will
maintain full transparency and seek ongoing input from the
GOM to ensure this package has the greatest impact on the
ground.

-- Arms Trafficking: The flow of arms south will be on the
mind of most of your interlocutors. We have a very active
ICE and ATF team at post that are doing what they can to
assist the GOM to improve its capacity to trace weapons and
we are doing what we can on our side of the border to target
weapons flowing south. But given the scale of the problem
and the U.S. gun regime, this is not an issue that will be
solved and the best we can do is try to hold the line.

--Extraditions: Cooperation during the Calderon
administration has been outstanding, with more than 160
dangerous criminals being extradited to the U.S. in the past
two years. Your GOM contacts should be congratulated on
their efforts in this area and encouraged to pursue the many
pending cases.

-- Southern Border: We continue to work closely with Mexico
to strengthen its control of its southern border. You should
praise GOM officials for their efforts in this area and
assure them of continued U.S. technical assistance on
southern border initiatives, and diplomatic support as we
work together with Central America.

--Kidnappings: We recognize that kidnappings in Mexico have
increased dramatically in recent years and are concerned as
to their impact on US citizens, particularly living along our
shared border. According to local media, more than 7,000
kidnappings will occur in 2008. We appreciate the GOM's
cooperation in investigating kidnappings along the border, as
well as those involving American citizens.

--SIAs: Mexican authorities are receptive to our concerns
about potential infiltration by foreign groups and are
stepping up security and surveillance when circumstances
warrant; they are investigating special interest aliens and
taking action against human trafficking and smuggling
operations that might be exploited by terrorists. We are
concerned by a 2007 procedural change (whereby SIA's are no
longer detained in one central facility) that has complicated
our ability to investigate and track such individuals, but
appreciate the cooperation offered to CBP by senior Mexican
migration officials to resolve this issue.
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap /
GARZA