© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Packages of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, are displayed during a news conference in the Port of Nogales, Arizona, USA.
By Adriana Barrera and Lizbeth Díaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico and the United States agreed on Thursday to intensify the fight against fentanyl trafficking, as well as against the Mexican Sinaloa and CJNG drug cartels and their supply chains, in a joint attempt to reduce consumption. of the powerful opioid.
The agreement came after a meeting of officials from both countries in Washington.
Both countries have asked China in recent weeks to help stop the shipment of chemical precursors from the Asian country, in order to prevent the production of the synthetic drug responsible for thousands of deaths in the United States.
“That is our goal,” said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in a video released by his office, without mentioning the origin of these chemicals.
The White House said this week that it plans to expand efforts to disrupt the illicit financial activities of drug traffickers involved in the fentanyl trade by using more sanctions to obstruct their access to the US financial system.
Ebrard said the Mexican delegation also asked Washington for a working group to monitor and “substantially” reduce the flow of arms from the United States to Mexico.
Mexico is appealing a $10 billion civil lawsuit seeking to hold US arms manufacturers accountable for facilitating the trafficking of deadly weapons across the border to local drug cartels. He argues that combating this is a shared responsibility.