This month, the U.S. government donated to the Government of Mexico security forces nearly $900,000 of specialized personal protective equipment, including coveralls, gloves and masks that will help Mexico to safely dismantle and destroy clandestine narcotics labs, and disrupt the flow of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States. The equipment will be distributed to Mexican security forces along the Pacific coast, where the majority of the dangerous clandestine drug labs in Mexico are located.
This equipment donation, announced March 10, under the Merida Initiative, is part of the extensive bilateral collaboration between the United States and Mexico to counter the transnational criminal organizations and their manufacture and distribution of drugs and precursor chemicals by transnational criminal organizations.
The U.S. government also provides training on how to investigate and safely dismantle clandestine laboratory sites. U.S. government personnel share information with Mexican government counterparts including the Mexican military, Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Police , the Federal Commission for the Regulation of Hazardous Materials (COFEPRIS), and Customs.
The Merida Initiative is a partnership between the United States and Mexico to support the Mexican government’s effort to disrupt criminal organizations and strengthen the rule of law. Through eight years of implementation, the Merida Initiative has greatly enhanced cooperation between the United States and Mexico. It has provided tangible support to Mexico’s law enforcement and judicial institutions, helped to counteract the illegal trade in narcotics, and strengthened border security. To date, the Merida Initiative has delivered $1.6 billion in equipment, training, and capacity building support to the government of Mexico.
The U.S. government remains committed to working with the government of Mexico to enhance its ability to confront the shared challenge posed by organized crime and drug trafficking.
