President Claudia Sheinbaum and her Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, have established a new approach in the relationship with the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States (DEA), marking a significant shift after the deterioration during the term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
García Harfuch has been the main interlocutor in this new chapter, holding meetings with Terrance Cole, DEA Administrator, in Washington and participating together in the 40th International Conference on Drug Control (IDEC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both officials have emphasized the exchange of information and cooperation in the fight against organized crime.
Despite this rapprochement, tensions persist. Sheinbaum has accused the United States of trying to create divisions in her cabinet by praising García Harfuch, while the DEA has pointed out Mexican officials and claimed its role in recent operations against synthetic drug laboratories.
The dialogue between Mexico and the DEA has had García Harfuch and Cole as its main figures. They met several times, highlighting the efficiency in the exchange of information and the results of Mexico’s drug strategy. This change comes after a period of tensions that included the case of General Salvador Cienfuegos, who was arrested in the United States for alleged links to drug trafficking, causing friction in the bilateral relationship.
During López Obrador’s term, DEA intelligence units in Mexico were closed, and the activities of U.S. agents were restricted. However, under Sheinbaum’s administration, the detention of 63,000 alleged criminals and the seizure of large quantities of drugs have been reported, indicating a return to security collaboration.
The discussion about cooperation was present recently after an announcement by the DEA about the dismantling of laboratories in Sinaloa, which generated responses from García Harfuch that did not reference the agency as a main participant in those operations. In this context, there is also a recent reduction in the trafficking of fentanyl from Mexico and a decrease in the flow of migrants across its borders.
Source: www.infobae.com
