FBI considers the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico inconsistent

The cooperation of the Government of Mexico, which heads Andrés Manuel López Obrador assistance in the fight against drug trafficking cartels is inconsistent, and America needs me to do more, he claimed Christopher Wraydirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBIfor its acronym in English),

during an appearance this Thursday April 11 in the Capitol, Wray He assured that in recent years both Governments have had joint successes in the fight against drugs, but the problem of trafficking, mainly fentanylit is so big that They need broader cooperation from Mexico.

“(Cooperation on the part of Mexico) is inconsistent. “We have had individual cases of success, including events related to important cartel figures and extraditions.”

Christopher Wraydirector of the FBI

Christopher Wray said this in response to a question during a hearing at the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Justice Expenditures.

“But the reality is that especially the two main cartels, (the Sinaloa Cartel) and the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) They are the cause of most of the things we are addressing here. And we need the Mexican government to do more,” Wray said when asked by Republican Hal Rogers.

More than 75 thousand deaths from fentanyl in the United States.

Christopher Wray focused on illegal fentanyl traffickingthe synthetic drug which the US Government accused was responsible for more than 75 thousand deaths from overdose in 2022, whose main manufacturers are the Mexican cartels of Sinaloa and the CJNG since at least 2019.

FBI considers the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico inconsistent

“There are individual cases that are bright spots (of cooperation with Mexico). But This is such a big problem..

“We need consistent assistancesustained and scalable on their part (the Mexicans),” added Wray, who during his appearance used the term inconsistent repeatedly.

In the most recent annual report on narcotics from the US State Department, where the President’s Administration Joe Biden highlights that the López Obrador Government lacks a comprehensive strategy against the production and trafficking of fentanyl.

List where they will expect more cooperation from Mexico against drugs

This Thursday, the director of the FBI made a list of areas where they would expect greater Mexican cooperation particularly in the areas of anti-crime information sharing and further extraditions of drug traffickers.

Between the requests by Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, the country has the power to impose tougher measures on traffickers, but only this Wednesday, April 10 advanced in the Senate of Mexico a initiative promoted by Morena, AMLO’s party, to give amnesty to criminalsthat is, release them even if they commit serious crimes.

“We need help (from Mexico) to take tougher measures against cartels. We need it.

“Help to eliminate the laboratories where this poison (fentanyl) is produced.”

“We need your help to stop the purchase and the entry of chemical precursors (…) from the People’s Republic China“.

Christopher Wray, director del FBI

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“Se It’s about extraditions, it’s about sharing information. And, like I said, the key is to have it in a capable, consistent and sustained way. It’s not that there aren’t bright spots (in cooperation with Mexico) but we simply need a lot more.”

According to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the fentanyl seizures on the border with Mexico during Fiscal Year 2023 exceeded 12.1 tons, a figure that represented almost double the 6.3 tons seized on the border during the previous Fiscal Year 2022.

400 investigations against Mexican cartels

According to the testimony of the FBI director, The agency has nearly 400 active investigations open against the leadership of Mexican cartels within the United States and of which 88 are located in the judicial districts of the border with Mexico, the main drug trafficking corridor to the United States.

“Certainly, we need the Mexican government to do more. “I am satisfied with what we have achieved (with them) but we need much more,” Wray said when asked by Democrat Matt Cartwright.

Although the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the lead agency dedicated to combating illicit substance trafficking, the FBI is the largest federal law enforcement agency and leads most of the operations against organized crime within US territory.