Senate of Mexico.
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(CNN Spanish) -
The Senate of Mexico approved this Wednesday an initiative to reform the National Security law, presented by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The general vote obtained 71 in favor, 20 against and one abstention, while in particular, 72 votes in favor and 14 against were registered.
The opinion was sent to the Chamber of Deputies for treatment.
The amendment to current regulations is related to foreign agents in the country and aims to regulate their activities for the exchange of information with Mexican authorities, according to a press release from the Senate.
The government explained that, on the one hand, it is intended to specify various obligations or limitations in a single legal provision and, on the other, to achieve a principle of reciprocity.
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The regulations approved by the Upper House define foreign agents as "foreign officials who in their countries of origin carry out police, inspection or supervision functions of the laws and other provisions of a regulatory nature or those of a specialized technical nature", according to to the statement.
The project "proposes that the embassies and foreign missions accredited in the country must inform the corresponding authorities of the facts of which they are aware in the performance of the functions derived from the bilateral cooperation agreements and programs," the Senate reported.
In addition, foreign agents may obtain authorization to temporarily enter national territory for the exchange of information, respecting those same agreements and programs.
For their part, public officials must deliver a written report to the pertinent authorities within three days of having maintained any communication with foreign agents.
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Finally, they may carry the firearms authorized by the Secretariat of National Defense, although they will be prohibited from executing actions related to the deprivation of liberty, raiding private property or any other conduct that violates the Constitution or national laws.
Before the possible commission of crimes or infractions, they will not have any type of immunity, according to the project.
“In the event that it is found that a foreign government, through its agents, incites or promotes the commission of crimes consisting of bribery, the illegal deprivation of liberty of persons, as well as the abduction of the inhabitants of the national territory to be brought to trial before another State, our authorities will suspend the execution of bilateral cooperation agreements and will prohibit the carrying out of activities by foreign agents in national territory, ”says the official note.