Mexico sends back free helicopters

US efforts to tie the Mexican military closer to the US military have 
taken a turn for the worse with a decision by Mexico not to accept any more 
military equipment from the US on a no-cost lease arrangement.

In future, Mexico will revert to buying what it wants from where it wants 
to. The two nations will continue to share military information and some 
training.

Former US Defence Secretary William Perry worked very hard to persuade his 
Mexican counterpart to agree to receiving surplus US hardware.

Mexico's decision to accept 73 Vietnam War-era UH-1H ("Huey") helicopters 
in 1996 and 1997 was hailed as a breakthrough in cooperation with a 
military that tends to distrust the US.

Unfortunately for the US, the aging helicopters turned out to have 
mechanical problems that made them virtually useless in Mexico's 
mountainous regions. All of them have now been returned to the US.

Ostensibly intended for use in "the war on drugs", the helicopters were 
clearly intended in reality for counter-insurgency actions against the 
indigenous Zapatista guerrillas in the southern states of Chiapas and 
Guerrero.

To cover themselves, the US ostentatiously placed "restrictions" on how the 
helicopters could be used, but Mexican and US observers have reported 
seeing the helicopters near Zapatista sites.