US and Mexican Security Agencies Assess Bilateral Cooperation

Mexico City — Representatives from 15 US government agencies and their Mexican counterparts met Friday at the US Embassy in Mexico to discuss security issues including organized crime, fuel theft, border security, illegal migration, and arms trafficking, the embassy announced.

The meeting, part of the Bilateral Implementation Group (BIG), was led by Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez. The group was created to take “rapid and decisive measures” against criminal organizations, according to the embassy, which described it as an example of how security cooperation between the two countries “continues to evolve and deepen.”

In a statement after the meeting, the embassy emphasized that the administrations of President Claudia Sheinbaum and President Donald Trump are achieving “historic results in security when we work together.”

US Ambassador Ronald Johnson highlighted a 95% reduction in maritime drug trafficking to the United States, a 35% drop in overdose deaths, and the dismantling of 2,300 drug labs in Mexico as evidence of successful cooperation.

The meeting came two days after Trump renewed his intention to send ground troops to Mexico to combat organized crime groups, which he has designated as foreign terrorist organizations. The remarks have added tension to bilateral relations, already strained by US court cases against Mexican organized crime leaders and their political allies, including figures from the ruling Morena party.

In recent months, Washington has sent mixed signals — some praising unprecedented cooperation, others criticizing Sheinbaum’s government for not doing enough to dismantle criminal groups.