US Senate passes drug trafficking bill
Published:Wednesday | June 11, 2008 | 5:00 PM
The US House of Representatives has approved a three-year plan to tackle drug trafficking from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
The bill authorises the spending of US$1.6 billion to support anti-drug programmes and most of it is for use in Mexico.
The US Senate still has to approve its version of the bill.
Conflict between rival drugs gangs and Mexican police has escalated this year.
The violence has so far left more than 1,000 people dead.
The legislation passed by the House was 311 votes to 106, stems from the so-called Merida Initiative proposed by US President George W Bush in October last year.