Latin American Program in the News: U.S. officials await signal from new Mexican government on security ties
Associate Director Eric Olson commented on the future security cooperation between Mexico and the U.S. on the occasion of the Obama trip to that country this week.
In its scope and goals, the Mérida Initiative is often compared to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which changed the economic relationship between the two countries, leading to $500 billion in annual U.S.-Mexico trade. Security matters, however, pose a more delicate question. Some Mexican law enforcement officials have expressed concern that over the years U.S. intelligence officials have become too comfortable on Mexican soil.
The Peña Nieto administration has publicly stated that it is reviewing and revamping federal agencies. For instance, it dismantled the Ministry of Public Security and brought the federal police under the control of the Interior Ministry. Administration officials have stressed their commitment to deepening cooperation with the U.S.
But Eric Olson, a longtime security expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, said the waiting game has U.S. officials increasingly antsy about future cooperation. Some Obama administration officials have sought to reassure the Mexican government by expressing support for Peña Nieto’s narrative for Mexico, which highlights the country’s economic development over security problems.
“Nevertheless, there is also a growing sense that the Peña Nieto government is not simply reviewing the security relationship with the U.S., but looking to give it new form and substance,” Olson said. “What that new form and substance will be is not entirely clear yet and becomes increasingly worrisome for the U.S. with each passing day. My hunch is that this will be very much on the agenda behind closed doors when both presidents meet.”
To read the full article, please click here.
About the Author
Eric L. Olson
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
