The president has the sole authority to designate major non-NATO allies, which give enhanced benefits not only for their military, but for their scientific establishment as well.
The list of MNNAs include Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina, and Afghanistan (the sole MNNA designated by Obama), but not Colombia and Mexico, which are in fact major US allies.
Colombia is quite likely our closest ally in Latin America, and is a country which in fact investigated NATO membership, before being told it was excluded due to geography.
Out relationship with Mexico is complicated, but it's clear that Mexico is still a major ally.
Please President Obama, correct this oversight and help boost our diplomatic, scientific, and economic relations with Latin America by designating both countries as MNNAs.