By Roberto Bustamante
Mexico and the United States agreed to create a new security coordination mechanism called the Bilateral Implementation Group (BIG), with the objective of strengthening cooperation between both countries in the combat organized crime, drug trafficking, weapons and other transnational crimes.
The announcement was made by the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnsonafter a meeting with the head of the North American Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Robert Velasco.
According to the diplomat, this new scheme represents a stage of greater coordination to face the common security challenges that affect both nations.
The first meeting of the Bilateral Implementation Group was held on June 12 as part of the Cooperation Program on Border Security and Law Enforcement.
During the meeting, officials from both governments reviewed the progress achieved through joint actions and agreed to promote immediate measures to combat transnational criminal organizations.
According to information released by the authorities, the delegations agreed that security problems require coordinated and sustained efforts, focused on protecting the safety, health and well-being of the populations of both countries.
Among the results highlighted during the meeting were a 76 percent reduction in fentanyl seizures at the southern border of the United States and a 22.1 percent decrease in overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids, figures that both sides attributed to bilateral security cooperation.
Likewise, the governments of Mexico and the United States agreed to strengthen the exchange of information, coordinate actions against illicit trafficking of weapons and drugs, as well as strengthen strategies to combat criminal networks that operate on both sides of the border.
Keep reading:
– CBP recognizes that Mexico cooperates more than ever on border security.
– US Ambassador, Ronald Johnson, says that the fight against drug trafficking between Mexico and the US “must unite us, not divide us.”
