MEXICO CITY, Dec. 3  -- The U. S. government has provided Mexico nearly half of a $400 million aid package for its southern neighbor's ongoing battle against drug traffickers.

The $197 million giving to Mexico was released Wednesday at a ceremony in the Mexican capital led by U. S. Ambassador Tony Garza, El Universal reported online.

The release of the funds came at a time when drug violence has been on the rise in Mexican towns along the U. S. border.

The funding also follows last month's arrest of a top law officer working with Interpol after an investigation into alleged ties to Mexican officials and drug trafficking. Ricardo Gutierrez was placed under house arrest while investigators search for evidence of the alleged ties.

Mexican prosecutors said they had obtained information about Gutierrez from a drug trafficking suspect taken into custody this year. (UPI)