The Mexican attorney general announced on Saturday that he is in the process of working with his United States counterparts in pushing through the extradition of an accused narco-terrorist to the U.S.
But some Mexican legislators are demanding revisions to the treaty that permits Mexico and the U.S. to cooperate in the war on violent drug gangs. According to a petition circulating in Mexico City, senators from Mexico’s major political parties are calling on President Felipe Calderon to renegotiate the Merida Initiative, a treaty that was signed by President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox.
The Merida Initiative is a 2008 treaty in which the U.S. government agreed to donate $400 million in equipment, training and shared intelligence for Mexico's war with its drug cartels, the only stipulation being that Mexico meet human rights standards imposed by the U.S. State Department, including the punishment of police and military personnel who are guilty of brutality, indiscriminate killings and other crimes.
The petition, circulated by senators Rosario Green, Felipe Gonzalez, and others declared that the prerequisites for Mexico to receive U.S. money proves the Merida Initiative is not worth fighting against organized crime gangs such as the so-called Mexican Mafia.
The Mexican legislators concern about the treaty overshadow one of Mexico’s greatest successes in a bilateral effort to arrest and prosecute drug lords. Mexico’s attorney general recently reached an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to extradite accused drug cartel leader and assassin Edgar Valdez Villarreal.
Valdez, 37, is known more commonly in Mexico as “Barbie” because of his light skin and hair that Mexicans believe is reminiscent of the Barbie doll’s boyfriend, Ken. Valdez possesses dual citizenship, having spent part of his childhood growing up in the U.S..
In Mexico, he is alleged to be a ruthless murderer for the Beltran-Leyva drug cartel that operates in the central part of the country. He is accused of participating in videotaped torture and decapitations of his enemies.
He was indicted in June by a U.S. federal court in Atlanta, Georgia on charges of distributing thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into the United States between 2004 and 2006.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a columnist for Examiner.com and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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