Sheinbaum Says No Coordination with U.S. DEA on New Anti-Drug Initiative
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Tuesday that her administration has no agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regarding an operation called “Project Portero,” despite the DEA’s announcement of the initiative.
The DEA recently announced it was launching a significant joint effort with Mexico aimed at dismantling drug trafficking routes. However, Sheinbaum said during a morning press briefing that her government was unaware of the basis for the DEA’s statement and confirmed that no security agency in Mexico had reached any agreement with the DEA about this project. She expressed confusion over why the announcement was made.
Sheinbaum mentioned that Mexico’s foreign ministry has been collaborating with the U.S. State Department on a security coordination agreement for several months. This agreement, now nearly finalised, sets a framework for cooperation that emphasises respect for each country’s sovereignty and territorial boundaries, meaning each side operates within its own borders.
Additionally, a group of civil protection police officers from Mexico has been attending a workshop in Texas.
The DEA described Project Portero as a flagship operation aimed at dismantling cartel “gatekeepers” and enhancing collaboration between the two countries in combating organised crime. The agency launched a multi-week training program at one of its intelligence centres along the southwest border, bringing together Mexican investigators and U.S. defence officials and prosecutors to identify joint targets and coordinate efforts.
Relations between some Latin American governments and the DEA are often sensitive, with past interventions by the DEA on Mexican soil sometimes criticised as breaches of national sovereignty.
Earlier this year, the U.S. designated certain Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations, which led Sheinbaum to assert that she would not accept any foreign interventions that undermine Mexico’s independence.
