Will the U.S. be able to accept if Mexico buy equipment, military equipment, from other countries?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: Oh, that’s a decision for Mexico to make. And Mexico has purchased equipment from other countries. It flies a variety of Russian aircraft. You know, that is a sovereign decision of Mexico and we would respect that. MODERATOR: Okay. We’ll take one last question from Jose Carreo in the back and then we’ll have to proceed. QUESTION: Jose Carreo, El Universal. In Wednesday you mentioned that the United States would take advantage of the lessons that you learned in Colombia when putting in practice this project. Which are the specific lessons that you learned in Colombia that will be used in Mexico? ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: How long are you here for? (Laughter.) First of all, it’s important to understand something. There’s a big difference between Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative, okay. Plan Colombia had components to it — eradication, the fight against the FARC and the ELN and paramilitaries — that the Merida Initiative does not have. The Merida In
