Washington - The United States on Tuesday unveiled a multi- billion dollar plan to combat the drug trade and organized crime in Mexico. The project would span over many years and include military equipment and grants of 1.5 billion dollars from Washington and 7 billion dollars from Mexico City, according to Stephen Johnson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the western hemisphere.
"Mexico is under siege," he said, calling the plan "relatively new, unprecedented, historic."
While the details and figures of the plan were not yet definitive, Johnson confirmed that US aid will include helicopters, scanners for border checkpoints, training and boats for Mexico's coast guard and navy, but would not include US troops on the ground.
"We still have to see how it develops," Johnson said. "We are still working with Mexico to try and define better what direction it is going to take."
Johnson said the plan also involves Central America, though he would not specify exactly what role countries in the region are expected to play.
"We also asked Central American countries to participate, given that the chain of drug traffic goes through their borders all the way to South America," he said.
The initiative originally came from Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who made the proposal to US President George W Bush in May.
Mexican authorities have been adamant that the plan not include US troops on Mexican soil, and have rejected its characterization as Plan Mexico because it could bring to mind the Plan Colombia, where US forces have been active on the ground in fighting the drug trade.
Johnson said US assistance presented "a historic opportunity" for closer ties with Mexico and "support a sea of changes in law enforcement."
