Sheinbaum Denies DEA Deal on Mexico Operation

Mexico City — President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo clarified that no agreement has been signed between the Mexican government and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This statement comes despite the U.S. agency announcing the launch of a joint initiative with the government of Mexico, which it called "Project Portero," in a press release on Monday. The president emphasized that the only agreement being worked on with the neighboring country is one that is yet to be signed.

"We do not know why they issued that statement," added Sheinbaum Pardo, who made it clear that "we do not validate something issued by an institution of the United States that has not been consulted with the government of Mexico."

At the start of her morning press conference on Tuesday, and without a question being asked, the head of the federal Executive clarified the information that was announced yesterday by the DEA via a statement.

"I want to make a clarification: yesterday the DEA issued a statement saying that there is an agreement with the government of Mexico for an operation, which they call Portero. There is no agreement with the DEA. The DEA issues the statement, we do not know on what basis; we have not reached an agreement with any of the security institutions with the DEA."

She detailed that "the only thing there is, is a group of police officers from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection who were taking a workshop in Texas, that is all there is. There is nothing more."

Furthermore, on security matters, "the only thing there is with the United States government is an agreement that has been in the works for several months, which is practically ready with the U.S. Department of State, and the government of Mexico, coordinated by the Secretariat of Foreign Relations."

Regarding the agreement that is about to be signed, she explained that it is fundamentally based "on sovereignty, mutual trust, territorial respect, meaning that each party operates in its own territory, and collaboration without subordination. Those are the four principles."

She added that this agreement includes a series of proposals on security matters and insisted: "It is the only agreement; evidently there is communication with the northern command, with the Navy and with Defense, communication with some of the agencies in a formal way, Public Security, with Defense, with the Navy, with the National Guard, but there is no agreement for an operation that has been recently agreed upon with the DEA."

After noting that "any joint communication is done jointly," she recalled that the relationship with agents of U.S. agencies is governed by the Constitution, with a recent reform in this area, as well as the National Security Law.

According to the DEA's statement, that agency would launch a joint initiative with Mexico to dismantle the drug trafficking networks used by cartels, which it blamed for "flooding U.S. communities with deadly synthetic drugs."