The Mérida Plan: United States and Mexican approaches

The Mérida Plan is a bilateral security strategy agreed between the United States (US) and Mexico. The main purpose of the plan, signed in 2007, is to combat criminal organizations in Mexican territory and prevent drug smuggling on the US border. The Mérida Plan accepts that both U.S. and Mexican criminal groups pose a threat and that a shared responsibility must prevail to effectively reduce the areas controlled by these groups. The main purpose of this study is to explain the main effects of the Mérida Plan/initiative on phenomena such as migration, border security and human rights at the Mexican border, covering the period 2008-2023. In this context, the first part focuses on the background of the Mérida Plan in the 1990s and the process of its signing and entry into force. In the second part, Mexico's perspective on the initiative is explained in detail. The progress made by Mexico government from 2007 to the present and challenges such as lack of transparency and drug trafficking are also discussed. Similarly, the third and final chapter describes the US approach to implementing the Mérida Plan. This section shows the progress and shortcomings of U.S. presidents and relevant government agencies on border security and drug demand. As a result, the study concluded that the Mérida Plan was partially successful, but overall it was a plan that did not meet expectations. The reasons for this widespread failure from Mexico are i) corruption affecting institutions tasked with administering justice, ii) lack of professionalism of the forces operating against organized crime, iii) Mexico's lack of accountability. On the other hand, when we look at the problems originating from the USA, these are i) the high demand for drugs originating from this country, ii) the standardized strategy applied to capture the leaders of criminal organizations in Mexico that does not reduce the activities of criminal groups in the long term, iii) the notion that the USA has little responsibility in eliminating the cartels, since the problem is mainly of Mexican origin. Keywords: Mérida Plan, USA, Mexico, security, drug trafficking