Congressional leaders speak out against a Mexican law restricting DEA agents

WASHINGTON.— Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress on Wednesday expressed alarm over a law passed in Mexico that

restricts the activities of the Drug Control Administration

(DEA) in that country and that, in their opinion, would endanger the security of the United States.

The reform to the National Security Law, which was expressly approved by the Mexican Congress on Tuesday, imposes a series of restrictions on foreign agents operating in that country, including DEA agents.

The Republican senator from Texas,

Ted Cruz

, released a letter sent to the heads of the departments of State and Justice, Mike Pompeo and Bill Barr, respectively, in which he

strongly denounced the approval of the measure

.

[AMLO proposes to withdraw the diplomatic immunity of DEA agents and restrict their activity in Mexico]

"The intransigence of the Mexican government increasingly endangers the national security of the United States, as well as the health and safety of Americans" and of Mexican citizens, he argued.

Cruz complained that there are

"increasingly influential voices in the Mexican government"

that oppose the measures that the Trump Administration has taken against the Mexican drug cartels, including sanctions against businesses allegedly linked to those cartels.

The arrest of General Cienfuegos hurts US credibility, says Mexican magazine

Nov. 22, 202002: 07

For his part, the Democratic legislator from the 28th district of Texas, Henry Cuéllar, questioned that

the Mexican Congress has approved that law in the middle of the transition to a new government

in the United States that, in fact, will inherit the challenges of the agenda bilateral.

“I respect the sovereignty of Mexico by passing its legislation.

However, after speaking with US police agents and Mexican officials, I am concerned that this legislation would threaten the security of our nations and would endanger US police agents "in that country, Cuéllar warned.

The United States and Mexico have developed an "extraordinary level of collaboration and coordination" to face criminal and terrorist threats, and the Security Law

"endangers this alliance and, therefore, public safety,"

Cuellar emphasized.

[The United States opposes a Mexican law that limits the presence of foreign agents in Mexico]

The congressman advised that both countries focus on their long-term alliance instead of "short-term tensions", and continue their joint work in the face of common challenges.

Last Friday, Barr warned in a statement that the Security Law would "make bilateral cooperation more difficult," and would only benefit drug cartels and other international criminal gangs.

More restrictions for foreign agents

Among other elements, the National Security Law eliminates the legal immunity of foreign agents and requires them to only carry out intelligence exchange tasks with the Mexican authorities.

In addition, it prohibits them from participating in direct operations with agencies outside the Ministry of Foreign Relations or relevant agencies.

It also

requires that foreign agents share only through the Mexican Foreign Ministry any intelligence data

they obtain in the framework of their activities, in addition to that they must submit monthly reports on matters related to cooperation in matters of security. 

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during a press conference on December 15, 2020. Presidency of Mexico

Foreign agents may not make arrests, enter private property or carry out any activity that violates the Mexican Constitution and laws, and may only carry weapons authorized by the Ministry of Defense in that country.

More challenges for Biden

The incoming Biden Administration will inherit the current tensions around bilateral cooperation, and the repercussions of the new Mexican law could make that process even more difficult, according to observers.

“The law does not bode well for warm bilateral relations between the Biden and AMLO administrations.

It is the product of AMLO's furious reaction to the arrest of a corrupt Mexican general, which annoyed the military, "Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington political think tank, told Noticias Telemundo.

[General Salvador Cienfuegos arrives in Mexico after a judge dropped his charges for drug trafficking in the United States]

"This is a setback for the US-Mexico counter-narcotics cooperation that will cause concern among Democrats and Republicans ... Relations between the incoming Biden Administration and the Mexican Government were not going to be easy, but this law complicates everything even more ”, warned the expert.

The law in question was approved after the arrest, on October 15 in Los Angeles, California, of the former Mexican Secretary of Defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos, for alleged links to drug trafficking and money laundering.

AMLO asks Joe Biden for his support to address the migration crisis after recognizing his electoral victory

Dec. 16, 202000: 40

His arrest caused unrest among the Armed Forces and Mexican political circles, and the government of the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador

(AMLO), insisted that it was never informed of the investigation

launched against Cienfuegos for more than a year. 

Subsequently, the Department of Justice announced last month the withdrawal of all charges against Cienfuegos, so that the Attorney General's Office (FGR) of Mexico could carry out its own investigation against the military.

["It's an unprecedented event": what awaits General Cienfuegos in Mexico after avoiding drug trafficking charges in the US]

Cruz complained that, to date, the AMLO government has not

only not initiated its own investigation against Cienfuego

s, but has also requested the transfer to Mexico of the former secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna, who was arrested in Dallas , Texas, in December 2019. García Luna faces trial in New York on charges related to bribery and cocaine trafficking.

Cruz urged in his letter that the US Government reject the transfer of García Luna to Mexico

, and make it clear to the Mexican government that his effort to undermine the work of the DEA agents against drug trafficking is "unacceptable." and calls into question "the strength of the relationship between the US and Mexico."

The Security Law had the support of the military authorities in Mexico, many of which have viewed DEA agents in their territory with suspicion, especially after the murder of agent Enrique Camarena in 1985.