With intelligence provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2014, Mexico and the United States succeeded in capturing Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, one of the world’s most wanted men. Tracking the satellite phones used by Guzmán’s bodyguards was one of the key factors that enabled authorities to locate and arrest him in Mazatlán, Sinaloa.
That operation now serves as a distant reminder of the relationship between Mexico and U.S. security agencies, which today faces the challenge of either restoring cooperation or remaining in a state of distrust during one of the most tense periods in recent years.
According to experts, maintaining cooperation between Mexico and agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and DEA is essential because coordinated efforts have resulted in major blows against organized crime.
“The short- and medium-term challenge in the relationship is how to move forward with a collaboration that is necessary because we are dealing with transnational crimes such as money laundering, arms trafficking, irregular migration, and fentanyl,” said José María Ramos, professor at the College of the Northern Border.
National sovereignty at stake
For decades, Mexico and U.S. security agencies have worked together in the fight against organized crime.
According to security expert David Saucedo, without this collaboration it would have been extremely difficult for Mexico to carry out arrests such as those of “El Chapo” Guzmán, former Canadian Olympic athlete Ryan James Wedding, who is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, or even the operation in which Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, former leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was killed in February.
“There has been a presence of U.S. intelligence agencies in Mexico—the FBI, DEA, CIA, and Homeland Security—not just now, but for decades, and often with the support of the Mexican government. The FBI has entered Mexico on several occasions to pursue Mexican fugitives. The DEA has operated in Mexico since the 1980s. The presence of U.S. agencies has increased, but this occurs at the request of the White House,” he explained.
Not always within the limits of sovereignty
However, U.S. agencies have not always operated in ways that fully respected Mexico’s sovereignty.
One example was the participation of CIA agents in an operation to dismantle a synthetic drug laboratory in Chihuahua, which caused tensions with the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés, professor at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, said this case reflects what has happened on other occasions with the operations of U.S. security agencies in Mexico.
“This wasn’t something new. What happened in Chihuahua had long been an open secret. It only became public because two of the four agents involved were involved in an accident, and their deaths made their participation impossible to hide,” he explained.
In Chihuahua, a state governed by Maru Campos of the National Action Party (PAN), CIA agents participated in the operation to dismantle the drug laboratory.
Different agencies, different agendas
Edmundo Meza Rodríguez, professor of International Relations at IBERO Puebla, explained that although Mexico has requested a more centralized and diplomatic form of cooperation that respects its sovereignty, this has not always occurred because of the way U.S. security agencies operate.
“The U.S. government functions like a collection of small fiefdoms. The CIA, FBI, DEA, and ICE each have their own agendas, methods, and operational priorities. National security is fragmented and uncoordinated, and each agency pursues its own objectives, which sometimes leads them to act beyond the limits of Mexico’s sovereignty,” he said.
Source: politica.expansion
