What's new in the U.S.- Mexico Relationship? A massive, multi billion-dollar anti-drug campaign.
What's the best way law enforcement can beat the narcotics traffickers? With endless resources and the support from the government and the people. That's exactly what Mexico and the U.S. hope to acheive with a historic effort that will total more than $7 billion, with $1.4 billion pledged by the U.S.

Will successful anti-drug efforts in Mexico, like the historic operation last week, become the new norm? It's tough to say for sure, but the administrations of Felipe Calderon and George W. Bush are ready to try, if their governments will support them.

What do you think? Will Congress fully fund the effort? Will it be successful? Will it help improve the flow of other commerce between our two nations?

The Los Angeles Times focuses on the massive scope of the effort. LAT's headline: "Bush wants $1.4 billion for Mexico drug war, It would be the largest U.S. aid package to Latin America since 2000."

The White House announced Monday a $1.4-billion military and security package to assist Mexico and several Central American countries in their fight against drug-trafficking groups threatening the region's democracies.

President Bush requested an initial $550-million appropriation from Congress, with the rest of the funds to be distributed over one or two years. The aid is to go for helicopters, police training and communications and data-processing equipment.

Coverage is largely friendly to the White House
The Dallas Morning News article has this glowing quote its story titled "Bush announces $1.4 billion drug plan for Mexico, Backers say proposal opens dialogue; foes way of U.S. military."

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said the plan "is the single most aggressive undertaking ever to combat Mexican drug cartels and the associated violence they pose to citizens in both the U.S. and Mexico."

Garza's op-ed on the "Strategic partnership" ran in the Dallas Morning News.

Will the Mexican People Accept U.S. Aid?
The Houston Chronicle reports: Bush's drug war funding plan draws fire in U.S., Mexico

The proposal — which U.S. officials said would help Mexico fight the cartels that threaten to overwhelm its security forces — stoked traditionally deep suspicions here of Washington's motives, with politicians and journalists voicing concerns about U.S. intervention in Mexican affairs.

USA Today summarizes the history/challenge this way:

The request marked a major shift in Mexico's dealings with the United States. Mexico has long avoided U.S. military intervention, turning down most military aid offers, refusing to participate in joint military exercises and barring U.S. troops from operating on Mexican soil.

The distrust dates from the Mexican-American war in 1846-1848, in which Mexico lost half of its territory to the United States. The increase in organized crime has made the problem more urgent to the Mexican public, overwhelming objections to U.S. involvement, said Ana Laura Magaloni, a professor of international law at the Center for Economics Research and Education, a top foreign policy school in Mexico City.

Challenges Ahead
The Associated Press reports today that: The U.S. government is vowing to spend $1.4 billion to help Mexico battle violent drug gangs, but the money will be largely wasted if authorities here don't cut the ties between police forces and organized crime, security analysts say.

And there's lots of doubt to go around Capitol Hill. The San Antonio Express-News reports on doubts being raised there.

Our Recent Focus on this Issue
We've been blogging about this new "Plan Mexico" during the last few weeks and our writers have focused on the broader topic for many moths. When the news first broke we asked our members: "Can Mexico win the war against drug cartels with U.S. help?"

MATT columnist E.J. Rangel recently wrote about the urgency of a binational approach to the anti-drug efforts. And last March, just two months after the new Mexican president took office, wrote about a drug crackdown that he argued was right on target.