Good money after bad. LOTS of good money...

Washington Post:

President Bush announced Monday in Washington that he will ask Congress to approve a $500 million package to help Mexico fight drug cartels, the largest international anti-drug effort by the United States in nearly a decade.

The proposal could represent a seismic shift in relations between the two countries, whose law enforcement agencies and policymakers have often bickered over the drug war, as well as other hugely contentious issues such as immigration reform and trade.

U.S. and Mexican negotiators reached the agreement in secrecy. Some in Mexico worried that an aid package would infringe upon its sovereignty, and concerns surfaced in the United States about costs and strategy in light of the oft-criticized effort to combat drugs in Colombia.