U. S. Government Accountability Office

The federal government has taken a number of steps to combat threats posed by drug cartels, including potential crime and violence directed against U. S. citizens and government interests. For example, in 2008, the U. S. government began a program-known as the M rida Initiative-to provide Mexico and the countries of Central America with financial and technical assistance for counter drug efforts, among others. In March 2009, as a response to the violence in Mexico, DHS announced a new southwest border initiative to guard against violent crime spillover into the United States by increasing the deployment of personnel and technology along the southwest border.