U.S. Congress Approves Counter-Narcotics Aid for Mexico, Central America, and Others

On June 26, 2008, the U.S. Congress approved a package of $465 million in counter-narcotics assistance for Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, known as the Merida Initiative. The aid package, which will send helicopters, drug-sniffing dogs and technical help to Mexico, encountered significant political difficulty before it was approved....[more]