During the High Level Security Dialogue between Mexico and the United States, officials from both countries shared the results of conversations that the US Secretary of State described as “extremely positive.” In addition, the representation headed by Blinken announced new measures to repatriate Venezuelan migrants in US territory, stating that the necessary security conditions already exist for them to return to the South American country.
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“We believe in bridges, not walls,” said the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena, during the press conference after the cycle of closed-door talks, where Antony Blinken was accompanied by the Secretary of National Security, Alejando Mayorkas. , and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
One of the issues that generated disagreements between both delegations was the expansion of the wall on the border between both countries. Prior to the dialogue, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had expressed disappointment in the Biden Administration’s decision to endorse the expansion of the barrier, describing the decision as “a step backwards” in the cooperation between both countries.
However, Bárcena mentioned that the US representation stated that the money that had been allocated for the wall in 2019 during Donald Trump’s mandate and that Congress is now pressuring Joe Biden to use, will not be allocated for a physical expansion of the wall. barrier, but for the development of greater technology in the sections already built.
“I understand that it will not be through walls, it will be through technologies, it will be through other types of facilities (…) I think this is what Secretary Mayorkas was kind enough to explain to us, because obviously we expressed our concern. “said the Mexican official.
On the other hand, the diplomatic representation of Washington confirmed that they will continue to cooperate with Mexico for the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants in the United States, although they also confirmed that they are working to expand the legal channels through which all those interested can choose to legally migrate to the country. North American.
“We have determined that it is safe to return Venezuelan citizens who arrived in the United States after July 31 and do not have a legal basis to remain here,” Mayorkas said, adding that both countries face “an unprecedented challenge,” referring to the exodus. Venezuelan.
Regarding this, the US Secretary of State confirmed that Joe Biden’s Government will train 200 Mexican immigration officers to “better examine, identify and help potential victims of human trafficking.”
Progress in bilateral cooperation to combat fentanyl trafficking
The crisis over fentanyl consumption in the United States was another of the topics that was addressed in the conversations between Mexican and American officials.
On the one hand, Blinken was emphatic in his thanks to López Obrador for an “extremely positive and productive” conversation regarding the Latin American country’s cooperation in the fight against fentanyl. The official highlighted the extradition of Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, to the United States, which took place on September 14, as an example of Mexican commitment to the fight against drug trafficking.
Ovidio Guzmán, alias ‘El Ratón’, is the leader of a criminal cell known as ‘Los Chapitos’, accused by the US Government of being one of the main people responsible for trafficking fentanyl into US territory.
However, the issue of drugs, which has become the main cause of death for people between 18 and 40 years of age in the United States, according to Blinken, was not free of disagreements between both nations.
Despite US allegations that fentanyl is produced in Mexico, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, was emphatic in reiterating the official Mexican position that said drug is not produced in Aztec territory.
“Mexico is not a producer of fentanyl, it is a transit country and laboratories dedicated to it have not been detected here,” Rodríguez stressed, adding that the materials necessary to produce the substance come from Asia, although he acknowledged that they have been detected. clandestine laboratories that produce the drug, which are already being dismantled by the Mexican authorities.
Meanwhile, the Mexican delegation proposed the creation of an international body that integrates all nations that produce “fentanyl precursor chemicals”, in order to establish a network of closer collaboration between them and reach concrete multilateral actions to combat trafficking. of narcotics to the United States.
With Reuters and AP
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