AMLO confirms dissolution of Mexico’s anti-narcotics unit and the DEA

the president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorrevealed this Thursday that a year ago he dissolved a high-level anti-drug unit in which the Mexican government and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) collaborated for more than 20 years.

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“It has been a while since the decision was made to disband this group, there is still cooperation, but that group that was supposedly of a very high level, strategic, was infiltrated and its bosses are being investigated and there are prisoners from that group,” he said in his morning press conference.

The president made these statements after transcending this week in the national and international press that Mexico dissolved the anti-narcotics unit, in which there were more than 50 agents involved in special operations, such as the arrest of drug lord Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán in 2016.

The president questioned the reports and criticism from his opponents, who accused the Mexican government of suddenly closing the cooperation group.

“They lack information, that was done about a year ago and it was shown that this group was infiltrated by criminals, that even one of their bosses is being tried in the United States,” he said.

Lopez Obrador framed the decision in the new security policy that exists between Mexico and the United States, whose governments signed the Bicentennial Understanding in 2021 to end the militaristic approach of the Merida Initiative.

He also recalled that Mexico It now only admits agents “that are allowed by law” from the DEA and other agencies, after the reform to the National Security Law of December 2020 that restricts their presence.

“We maintain cooperation with international organizations in charge of security, but we try to respect our sovereignty,” he commented.

The Mexican leader reiterated his criticism of DEA agents and other foreign organizations, whom he accused of “before they entered and left the country and did what they wanted, they even fabricated crimes.”

Likewise, he reaffirmed his questioning of the DEA for the capture in 2020 in Los Angeles of the former head of the Mexican Army Salvador Cienfuegos.

He even cited that in a new memoir, William Barr, attorney general of the Donald Trump government, acknowledged that they were unaware of the arrest of Cienfuegos, who was handed over to Mexico shortly after, where he was released, after pressure from López Obrador.

“Now that the president’s attorney wrote his memoirs Trump He talks about the arrest of General Cienfuegos and maintains that they were agents from below and that they did not know. Imagine arresting the Secretary of Defense of a country and not finding out from above, ”he stressed.

Source: Elcomercio

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