President Claudia Sheinbaum indicated this Friday that she will seek to “closer communication” with her American counterpart, Donald Trump, who assured that she is going to “start attacking on the ground” the Mexican cartels, whom she accused of being “killing 250,000 or 300,000 people” in her country every year.
“We are going to strengthen communication. I asked the Secretary (of Foreign Affairs), Juan Ramón de la Fuente, if it is necessary to meet with the Secretary of the State Department (Marco Rubio). And if it is necessary to speak with President Trump,” said the president during her morning press conference from Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero.
Trump’s statements occurred almost a week after the United States military intervention in Venezuela, which culminated in the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were later transferred to New York, where they face trial for drug trafficking among other crimes.
Sheinbaum was surprised and recalled that US officials have recently recognized bilateral cooperation.
“Two or three days ago, Secretary (Marco) Rubio himself spoke of the good security coordination that exists with Mexico, which has been presented on several occasions,” he said.
Sheonbaum also stressed that both countries have formal mechanisms for working together.
“There is the working group that we have together (to) strengthen the relationship. This information that we are giving about the campaign, seized laboratories, that have all the information and within the framework of what we have been working on, strengthen coordination,” he said, highlighting that Mexico has shared with the United States data on the results of its anti-drug trafficking strategy.
More context: Trump threatens to take military action against cartels in Mexico
As an example, the president explained that there is a specific agreement on maritime surveillance with US authorities.
“There is an agreement with the (National) Guard and the (United States) Northern Command so that the Secretary of the Navy is in charge of surveillance in our continental waters. It is an agreement that was made a few months ago and has been working,” he stressed.
Finally, he explained that there is operational coordination with US authorities to avoid confrontations.
“We do not want to think about another scenario, rather we want to continue working in that scenario so that coordination becomes even closer within the framework of the defense of our sovereignties of both and the territorial integrity of Mexico,” added Sheinbaum. The president specified that the results include relevant seizures, among them the seizure of 1.6 tons of cocaine recently seized in the Pacific by the Secretary of the Navy.
Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has said that he will fight drug trafficking with a strong hand, especially fentanyl from Mexico, and has offered to send US troops to attack drug trafficking.
The Mexican president has declined these proposals, arguing that Mexico is a sovereign country and that its Executive is committed to a peaceful solution.
Last Sunday, Trump praised his Mexican counterpart but considered that the president “is worried” and “has a little fear about the cartels controlling Mexico.”
With information from EFE.
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