“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) informed that the governments of Mexico and China agreed to cooperate to combat trafficking in substances used to manufacture fentanyl at the first meeting of the Working Group on Precursor Chemicals.
A Mexican delegation visited China from Monday to Friday to meet with Xu Datong, vice minister of the Ministry of Public Security, as well as officials from the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
During the meeting, the governments proposed a draft of rules for the Mexico-China Working Group on Chemical Precursors.
“The two parties agreed on the importance of continuing to cooperate within the scope of their respective jurisdictions and powers to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotics and chemical precursors, taking into account that there have already been successful cases of joint work,” said the SRE.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had revealed in May that he was seeking an agreement with China to exchange information on the illegal trafficking of fentanyl from Asia to the country and then to the United States.
On May 5, the president claimed to have proof of illegal fentanyl trafficking from China, something Beijing denied after a letter sent by the Mexican president to his counterpart, Xi Jinping, in April to ask for help in combating the drug.
López Obrador sent a second letter to the Chinese president after the Mexican Navy found, at the beginning of May, a shipment of more than 20 tons coming from the Chinese port of Qingdao that hid fentanyl and methamphetamines.
On the tour, the Mexican delegation visited the Precursor Chemicals Administration, the Chemical Registration Center of the Department of Emergency Management, a logistics supervision center and a narcotics research laboratory in Beijing.
“This working visit of officials and experts from different Mexican government agencies and institutions confirms Mexico’s willingness to continue cooperating to combat the scourge of drugs that affects Mexican society and the international community,” said the SRE.
The Mexican delegation was headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and included officials from the Ministry of the Navy, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks (Cofepris).