US, Mexico Agree to Ramp up Fight Against Fentanyl and Arms Trafficking
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Adriana Barrera & Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY, Reuters - Mexico City and the United States agreed on Thursday to intensify the fight against fentanyl, Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel and CJNG supply chains in a joint effort to reduce the consumption of this powerful opioid.
The agreement was reached after officials from both nations met in Washington.
In recent weeks, both countries asked China to help reduce the shipment of chemical precursors coming from Asia to prevent the production of the synthetic drug that is responsible for thousands deaths in the United States.
In a video made by his office, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo ebrard stated that "that's our aim", without mentioning where these chemicals come from.
The White House announced this week that it will expand its efforts to disrupt illicit financial activities by drug traffickers who are involved in the fentanyl industry. This will be done through the use of more sanctions designed to block their access to U.S. financial systems.
Ebrard stated that the Mexican delegation had also requested Washington to create a taskforce to monitor and "substantially reduce" the flow of weapons from the United States into Mexico.
Mexico has filed a civil suit for $10 billion against U.S. gun manufacturers, seeking to hold them responsible for the facilitation of the trafficking in deadly weapons from the U.S. to local drug cartels. It claims that fighting this crime is a joint responsibility.