Satisfied

American officials Carlos Pascual and Arturo Valenzuela say that they are satisfied with the pace of the Mérida Initiative, despite a report from the GAO that only 2 percent of the approved funds have been transferred to Mexico. Pascual counters that $700 million will be spent next year, and that much of the Mérida assistance can't be measured in financial stats, which is an odd explanation, since Mérida has always been measured and touted in terms of its value. Perhaps that's always been a misleading narrative, but then the government is most responsible for the narrative, and it's picking a convenient time to adopt another tack.