US Government ‘Cannot Demonstrate’ Progress After $3 Billion Investment in Mexico: Watchdog

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stand for the national anthems during an official welcome ceremony at the National Palace in Mexico City on Jan. 9, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States’ investment of $3 billion in Mexico aimed at addressing organized crime and violence and reducing drug trafficking has not proven to be effective, a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found.

The report (pdf) was published on Sept. 12 and noted that while the United States has provided billions of dollars in assistance to Mexico since 2008, the latter’s security situation has “worsened significantly,” with the country’s murder rate more than tripling.

According to the GAO, the billions of dollars of investment in Mexico were part of two key State Department arrangements: the Mérida Initiative from 2008–2021 and the Bicentennial Framework, which began in late 2021 and is ongoing.

The first arrangement, according to the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, focused on the shared responsibilities of the United States and Mexico to counter “drug-fueled violence threatening citizens on both sides of the border” and prevent “the flow of weapons and money, and the demand for drugs” in both nations.

The Bicentennial Framework is part of the two nations’ commitment to reduce cross-border crimes such as drug and arms trafficking as well as migrant smuggling and human trafficking, according to the State Department.

The GAO was asked to assess the results of U.S. assistance to Mexico for its report.

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Fentanyl Still a Key Issue

As part of its assessment, the GAO reviewed documents and data from both the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and interviewed officials from the USAID and the State Department, Defense Department, Justice Department, and Homeland Security in Washington. The GAO conducted fieldwork and interviewed U.S. and Mexican officials in Mexico.

The GAO also spoke with the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL).

“State/INL officials said the bureau has not yet begun to assess progress toward the shared goals of the Bicentennial Framework because it is currently negotiating with the Mexican government on a set of performance indicators, which is one of three key elements critical to assess progress,” the GAO said.

“Without incorporating all key elements for assessing progress, the U.S. government cannot demonstrate that it is achieving its goals in Mexico and that its investments, at over $3 billion since 2008, have been spent effectively,” the GAO added.

Specifically, the GAO found that the United States has not significantly reduced demand for illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl.

“The [Office of National Drug Control Policy] also reported that in the last several years, hundreds of thousands of Americans have died of drug overdoses, with more than 66 percent of these deaths involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl,” the GAO wrote.

Officials also pointed to the most recent provisional data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, which shows there were over 100,000 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in January 2023.

Fentanyl, firearms, and cash confiscated by DEA Los Angeles. (Courtesy of DEA Los Angeles)

Mexico’s Homicide Rate Surges

Mexico’s murder rate has also more than tripled, the GAO said, citing data from the United Nations showing the homicide rate in Mexico between 2007 to 2021 jumped to one of the highest national homicide rates in the world, from eight homicides per 100,000 people to 28 per 100,000 people.

Separate data from Mexico’s National Statistics Institute published in July found that homicides in the country had declined significantly for the first time in several years in 2022, to 25 homicides per 100,000 people, down from the 28 per 100,000 a year prior, marking a roughly 9.7 percent decline, The Associated Press reported.

At the time, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the decline represented the results of his “hugs, not bullets” policies aimed at alleviating poverty, banning corruption, and avoiding open confrontation with drug cartels.

Elsewhere, the GAO report also noted the continued free flow of firearms from the United States to Mexico, citing data showing that about 70 percent of firearms seized in Mexico from 2014 through 2018 and submitted for tracing originated in the United States.

“Despite U.S. assistance, Mexico’s security situation has worsened significantly since 2007, and the country’s murder rate has more than tripled,” the GAO report stated. “State/INL and USAID officials said that while the Mérida Initiative helped strengthen Mexican institutions, violence and corruption persist in Mexico. U.S. firearms trafficked into Mexico, along with the U.S.’s high demand for illegal drugs, contribute to security and drug crises on both sides of the border.”

The report concluded that the U.S. government “cannot demonstrate that it is achieving its goals in Mexico, or that its investments over the last 16 years have been effective.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the State Department for comment.