Mexican Army soldiers stand next to suspects during a presentation to the press after being... 
(AP)
More Photos
Most of it, however, will go to notoriously corrupt police forces and the same military whose soldiers have tortured, raped and killed innocent civilians while battling the cartels, according to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission. President Felipe Calderon himself said more than half of state and local police can't be trusted, and federal ranks are rife with corrupt officers.
The U.S. government has stood by Calderon. But Anthony Placido, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's intelligence chief, acknowledged the dangers.
"Law enforcement work anywhere in the world, and certainly in Mexico, can be perilous," Placido said in October when asked whether Mexican corruption has imperiled U.S. agents. "Is it dangerous? Absolutely."
After both nation's lawmakers approved the money this summer, Mexico went public with Operation Clean House, which ensnared a dozen high-ranking police officials, including the former drug czar, on allegations of spying for the powerful Sinaloa cartel.
Colombia has been cleaning house as well: A week before Obama's election, President Alvaro Uribe fired 20 officers — including three generals and four colonels — for negligence in the biggest-ever purge of Colombia's military. On Nov. 4, the army commander resigned. Uribe also reversed his resistance to U.N. monitoring, saying he would assign a human rights ombudsman to every battalion.
"The United States is a supremely important ally," Colombian armed forces chief Gen. Freddy Padilla told the AP. "But it's an ally that doesn't provide aid and support blindly."
Colombia places almost no restrictions on U.S. support, allowing U.S. soldiers and drug agents to operate freely in its territory.
But Mexicans have always chafed at American military aid. After the Calderon administration objected, U.S. lawmakers backed off tough restrictions, only conditioning 15 percent on State Department confirmation that Mexico is meeting human rights and police corruption goals.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
