According to the State Department's April 2002 FY2003 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations, transfer of grant Excess Defense Articles to Mexico enhances "Mexico's capabilities in the struggle against illicit production and trafficking of narcotics."¹ The February 2005 request for 2006 states that EDA "serves high-priority U.S. foreign policy objectives by enhancing Mexico’s capabilities to counter terrorism and in the struggle against the illicit production and traffic in narcotics." [2]

The General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in March 1998 that Mexico received twenty UH-1H "Huey" utility helicopters through the EDA program in 1996 and 1997.[³] Twelve of these, according to a yearly report to Congress, were offered in 1996 and another eight in 1997.[9] The helicopters were transferred for counternarcotics purposes.

Citing the poor condition in which the helicopters were delivered, in 1999 Mexico returned them, along with fifty-three helicopters transferred through a December 1996 emergency counternaroctics drawdown, to the United States.

2003 |2002 | 2001 | 1997 | 1996

2003:⁸
(all amounts in dollars)

2002:⁷

No Records

2001:⁴
(all amounts in dollars)

1997:⁵
(all amounts in dollars)

1996:⁶
(all amounts in dollars)

Sources:

¹ United States, Department of State, FY 2003 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations (Washington, DC: Department of State, April 15, 2002) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2003/>.

² United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2006 (Washington: February 2005) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2006/>.

³ United States, General Accounting Office, "Drug Control: Status of Counternarcotics Efforts in Mexico," Statement of Benjamin F. Nelson, Director, International Relations and Trade Issues, National Security and International Affairs Division, before the Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives; and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, U.S. Senate, document number GAO/T-NSIAD-98-129, Washington, March 18, 1998: 11 <http://http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98129t.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao>.

⁴ United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.

⁵ United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Assistance Agency, Defense Articles (Including Excess) and Services (Including Training) Furnished Foreign Countries and International Organizations Under the Foreign Military Sales Provisions of The Arms Export Control Act, Chapter 2 (Washington: August 1998).

United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.

⁶ United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Assistance Act Report To Congress, Fiscal Year 1996 (Washington: September 1997).

United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.

⁷ United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Assistance Act Report To Congress, Fiscal Year 1996 (Washington: September 1997).

United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.

⁸ United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Assistance Act Report To Congress, Fiscal Year 1996 (Washington: September 1997).

United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.

http://www.dsca.osd.mil/programs/eda/search.asp

⁹ United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Assistance Act Report To Congress, Fiscal Year 1996 (Washington: September 1997).