U.S. security experts have suggested Colombia help Mexico tackle spiralling crime cartel violence that has left 43,000 dead in the last five years.
Panelists from U.S. Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security met to review whether current U.S. involvement in Mexico is enough to protect the U.S.-Mexico border, reported UPI.com.
One proposal to improve the situation was to encourage the Colombian government to take an active role in helping the Mexican authorities, utilizing its experience in tackling drug cartels and organized crime.
Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William Brownfield said, “I am a great fan and admirer of what the Colombian people and their government have accomplished over the last 11 or 12 years.”
The former ambassador to Bogota added, “they can do it without the historical baggage that is ingrained in the U.S.-Mexico relationship … they can do it in a common language.”
Brownfield had previously called Colombia an example in the fight against drug trafficking.
The committees were tasked with analyzing the costs and benefits of U.S. aid sent to Mexico as part of 2008’s Merida Initiative, which has failed to prevent the deepening of the crisis which has engulfed Mexico since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels in 2006.