In October 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Mérida Initiative, a multi-year proposal for $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance to Mexico and Central America aimed at combating drug trafficking, gangs, and organized crime. This report outlines the various appropriations and other foreign aid measures outlined in the Mérida Initiative and what future actions regarding this ongoing effort will include.

Haiti faces several interrelated challenges, the most immediate being a lingering food crisis that in April 2008 led to deadly protests and the ouster of Haiti's prime minister. Haiti also suffers from a legacy of poverty, unemployment, and under-development that is compounding security problems for its new and fragile democracy. This report describes in detail the amount and types of emergency food aid and other relief aid that the United States has sent and will continue to send to Haiti. This report also outlines relevant pieces of legislation.

This report provides an overview of the controversies surrounding the first round of voting in Haiti's elections duringlate 2010, as well as concerns related to the second and final round of the elections. It also provides information about the beginning of Michel Martelly's start as Haitian president, including his difficulty in forming an administration.

This report discusses the dispute between the Dominican Republic and Haiti regarding the citizenship status of some 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent, as well as undocumented migrants in the Dominican Republic, which threatens to exacerbate tensions between the two neighbors.