Congress should fund President Bush's Mexican anti-drug initiative without attaching requirements for Mexico's military and police to comply with human-rights standards, U.S. drug czar John Walters said this week.

Reuters reported June 3 that Mexican officials said the conditions on the $350 million Merida Initiative funding were unacceptable, a position echoed by Walters.

"If we asked other nations what we are asking of Mexico, we would sabotage our relationship," Walters said. "These provisions are counterproductive and self-defeating ... We risk sabotaging this opportunity ... Insisting in such conditions would reduce the possibility of implementing our strategic partnership and compromise relations with a vital partner in the fight against crime and illegal drugs."

Bush originally proposed giving $500 million this year to fight drug cartels, but Congress scaled the funding back.