The murder of Brad Will, five years later

Five years ago today, Brad Will was murdered in Oaxaca. The men responsible for his death have still not been brought to justice.

The U.S. is expanding its operations within Mexico, with the DEA reportedly taking a direct role in building up informants in the cartels. Meanwhile, we can't seem to get justice for our own guy.

Basic justice in much of Mexico is rather lacking. Until that's repaired (and this isn't stuff you do overnight), it will be rather difficult to restore security, short term or long. That should be the basic goal.

The U.S. if funding a chunk of Mexico's internal war now, through the Merida Initiative. That's pretty certainly bad in its current form. If the US is to fund Mexico, the funding should be going toward building the institutions of justice.

The U.S.'s relationship with Mexico is already pretty awkward. We're running our own operations, going around parts of the Mexican bureaucracy we (perhaps rightfully) don't trust. Demanding justice for our own guy isn't exactly going to be what tips the boat. And so what if it did? It would in fact fit in with, not clash with, what should be our main theme: building justice. The Bush and Obama administrations have, for whatever reasons, decided to just let it go.

Previously: A small step toward justice in Brad Will case: court forces release of activist Moreno (2/10), Three years later, no justice in Brad Will murder (10/09), In Brad Will case, Mexican government moves ahead with its farce (7/09) and Grim but expected development in Brad Will case (10/08).