Spanning the distance between the United States and Latin America, Mexico is the tenth most populous nation in the world and thirteenth largest by area (761,610 square miles/ 1,972,550 square kilometers).

It is characterized as a country of origin, transit, destination, and return as people in flight and exile, asylum seekers, refugees, and victims of human trafficking all pass through what has become one of the world’s largest migration corridors. According to UNHCR Mexico, Mexico was among the top five countries of individual registrations of new asylum seekers in 2022.

Domestically, the IMF reports that the poverty rate has increased between 2018 and 2020 (from 41.9% to 43.9%), and gang and cartel violence continues to be a major issue throughout the country.

RET’s previous work in Mexico has responded to problems brought forth by the unprecedented arrival of families to Mexico’s southern border, fleeing gang-based violence in their home countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. These groups lack of basic necessities, access to schools, are subjected to arduous refugee application processes, and are vulnerable to child labor and organized crime.

From 2022–2024, our multi-year, regional disaster risk preparedness program worked on strengthening local entities and their Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management (CDRM) processes. This project was also implemented in Panama during the same period.

We address already-identified CDRM priorities at the municipal, as well as national and federal levels, in collaboration with the Coordinación Nacional de Protección Civil (CNPC, or National Civil Protection Coordination).

This multi-year project included:

• Strengthening situation room and operation centers at sites selected by the Government of Mexico and the implementation of an Action Plan agreed upon by the CNPC at sites selected by the Government of Mexico.

• The creation of a new Comprehensive Risk Management Committee (CRMC) for the standardization of the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) methodology at the national level..

• The dispersion of the Incidents Command System course (as well as the incorporation of the online mode) in three locations selected by the Government of Mexico.

• The strengthening of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) groups in the country through the creation and reaccreditation of various groups in the country.

• The design and development of a public awareness campaign to shift the paradigm from a civil protection culture (based on response) to one of CDRM (which takes a more holistic approach) amongst the key public, municipal, State and federal officials.

In 2023, we completed implementation of a related, additional project to strengthen risk management at the local levels in Mexico also included Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.