US Senators Request Information from DEA on Mexico's Level of Cooperation

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was sworn in on June 28, 2021.

Two senior U.S. Senators have written to the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requesting information on the agency's foreign operations, especially in Mexico, following news reports about the Mexican government slashing cooperation.

In April, Borderland Beat reported Mexico had shuttered an elite unit that had worked for decades with the DEA, and earlier this month published another report detailing how the DEA had withdrawn its plane used for high-profile operations from Mexico after officials rescinded its parking spot.

Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, who chairs the influential Senate Judiciary Committee, and Republican Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, a ranking member of the body, said they wanted the DEA to respond to the developments in Mexico.

In a letter to the DEA chief, Anne Milgram, they urged the agency to answer detailed questions about the closure of the elite unit and the removal of the plane, according to a statement by Grassley's office on Tuesday. "If accurate, these reports raise additional concerns about the status of DEA operations in Mexico and the DEA's working relationship with foreign law enforcement units," the two senators said in a letter dated May 23.

The senators asked for answers to its questions within two weeks and for an urgent briefing to the Judicial Committee to be set up. The letter follows their earlier request in November for a briefing over DEA's foreign operations amid reports there were long-standing problems with its oversight.

The senators also cited Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's allegation the elite unit had been infiltrated by criminals, comments made during a morning news conference when he was asked to confirm the Reuters report about its closure.

Woodrow Wilson Center Report from 13 Former US-Mexico Ambassadors

One of the most urgent challenges to U.S.-Mexico relations is reducing cross-border crime and the harm it is doing to Mexican and American communities. So states a report released in March, under the sponsorship of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute by 13 former U.S. ambassadors to Mexico and Mexican ambassadors to the United States.

Tens of thousands of Americans and Mexicans are dying or suffering from overdoses of drugs smuggled from Mexico into the U.S., and from the violence fueled by Mexico’s drug-trafficking criminal groups. Over the past year, government cooperation has improved with a new High-Level Security Dialogue framework and ambitious goals and objectives to guide law enforcement, justice, financial cooperation, community safety, and health aspects of this lethal cross-border commerce.

However, we need more progress in reducing the deadly effects of these criminal activities, including measurable metrics to demonstrate success in reducing illicit smuggling, arms trafficking, money laundering, and related violence and deaths. The ambassadors’ public security recommendations emphasize the importance of having a shared, detailed analysis of the situation that can be the basis for comprehensive, long-term cooperation, which too often was not the case in past efforts.

There is also a vital need to rebuild trust. In recent years, U.S.-Mexico developments have weakened mutual confidence and cooperation. Greater sharing of intelligence is necessary to be effective against criminal groups. However, the ambassadors warn in their report that “without trust and means to ensure the protection of information, however, there will not be and should not be increased sharing of information.” Sadly, such trust-based cooperation between U.S. and Mexican agencies has suffered greatly and remains legally limited in Mexico. Recent reports suggest that mistrust remains among agencies on the front lines.

The ambassadors emphasize the advantages of deploying newer technology along the U.S.-Mexico border, where over $1 million worth of legitimate commerce passes each minute. At present, border facilities and technology on both sides fall short. New U.S. border infrastructure funding could help address the problems. Importantly, there must be regular meetings from the cabinet-level down to measure and evaluate progress and encourage better public understanding of the security landscape and “accountability” up and down the chains of authority.

These recommendations — along with the other ideas shared in the report for strengthening U.S.-Mexico ties — provide solid direction for the two governments moving forward in 2022. It’s heartening to see progress in agreeing on new mechanisms and shared goals for public security, but it is not clear that common metrics or detailed action plans are being implemented, and new evidence underscores the urgency of action.

US Drug Overdoses & Mexico Homicide Rates

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced, for example, that over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from 2020. Of this total, over 71,000 overdose deaths were from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioid-related deaths jumped 23 percent in 2021. Most illegal fentanyl enters the U.S. from Mexico, according to the Commission on Combatting Synthetic Opioid Trafficking. Improving practical U.S.-Mexico law enforcement and justice cooperation is clearly more important than ever. The Biden administration recognizes this in its National Drug Control Strategy, which lays out steps to deal with the overdose crises, but more effective coordination with Mexico remains a pillar for success.

In Mexico, homicides are down slightly from an all-time high of more than 34,000 in 2019, but the outlook remains bleak. A report by the Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, for example, ranks Mexico as the fourth worst of 193 countries studied for overall criminality, with particularly bad scores for “Mafia-style” groups and “criminal networks,” as well as for synthetic drug trade. Mexico just revised upward its list of missing persons to 100,000, growing over 25,000 in the last two years. As of December 2020, Mexico had an estimated 350,000 internally displaced persons because of conflict or violence. Not surprisingly, many Mexicans do not feel secure in their hometowns and see public security as a top national issue.

The Biden administration introduced course corrections with a wary Mexican administration led by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), who was skeptical of bilateral public security cooperation under the U.S.-Mexico Merida Initiative began in 2008. The rebuilding effort led to an October 2021 cabinet-level “High-Level Security Dialogue” and a new “Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health and Safe Communities” to replace the Merida Initiative. The two governments issued a fulsome joint statement with a comprehensive set of commitments, and then negotiated and released shared objectives in January 2022. It is not clear if this progress has included detailed agreement on how to achieve the goals or to measure progress.

More comprehensive U.S.-Mexico collaboration is welcome. Dedicated officials from both countries are working to counter the criminal groups responsible for violence and deaths on both sides of the border. But, as the former ambassadors make clear, the U.S. and Mexican governments must demonstrate that they are rebuilding mutual trust and making the practical progress needed to counter these voracious criminal enterprises.

Source Reuters, The Hill