"Former U.S. officers to train Mexican police in cartel fight."

Here is an excerpt from Kevin Johnson's article in the USA Today:

"The U.S. and Mexico are drawing up plans to dispatch up to 300 former U.S. law enforcement officials to Mexico later this year to train thousands of Mexican police investigators in their

 escalating fight against drug cartels, federal officials said. Mexican government officials would select about 9,000 Mexican police for training at undisclosed locations in Mexico, one U.S. diplomatic and one federal law enforcement official said. The goal would be to quell rampant corruption and violence, much of it fueled by warring drug organizations. The plan would create a law enforcement academy where Mexican investigators could be trained in narcotics and weapons trafficking, money laundering, fingerprint examination and other disciplines key to their battle against the cartels and other criminal groups. The State Department would oversee the U.S. side of the program. Among the remaining issues that need State's approval: how the costs will be shared by the two governments, the full scope of the curriculum and how soon training could begin." Link to Full Article

Analysis: I'm ambivalent about this effort, simply because there are so many things that could go wrong and things that could be taken advantage of. Remember, Los Zetas used to be Mexican army special forces soldiers who were trained in the good ol' US-of-A at Fort Benning, Georgia. They took advantage of all that specialized training when they deserted, and are now making mincemeat of their enemies. Mind you, the type of training those former commandos received is different than the type of training the selected Mexican police officers will receive. Still, the echo of Los Zetas' background reverberates in my mind when I hear former FBI agents will be training Mexican cops.

Because I like to end on a positive note, I'll say that I'm trying to be optimistic about this initiative. I'm curious how they plan to vet the 9,000 Mexican police officers that are being selected for this program, but since I know Calderon is serious about purging corruption from the ranks, he may personally have a hand in the rules for that process. A good PR campaign for this initiative could also go a long way towards restoring some level of confidence in the public in cities and towns where these newly-trained police would be working. Yes, violence could get worse as these FBI-trained Mexican cops assert their authority, but I think we all know it will get worse before it gets better. I like that the State Department is involved and managing the US end of this program - that keeps a handle on the sensitive diplomatic issues regarding US assistance to Mexico. Also, the FBI's involvement is very prestigious for the officers selected; this serves as motivation for other Mexican cops to aspire to this sort of training, and to maybe keep their noses clean for future opportunities.