Mexico is reportedly starting a new unit made up of elite civilian and special operations forces to investigate and fight against drug cartels.
The government hasn’t yet publicly announced the unit, but it’s meant to set its sights on Mexico’s drug cartels, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
It’s another sign that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is diverging from her predecessor’s “hugs not bullets” strategy, which attempted to address root causes of violence rather than rely on law enforcement to deal with cartels.
But Mexico is under intense pressure from the U.S., as well as its own citizens, to crack down on narcotrafficking. Sheinbaum has deployed additional Mexican National Guard troops to the U.S. border and sent nearly 30 high-profile suspected cartel figures to the U.S. for prosecution.
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Cattle from Mexico have been barred from the United States for most the past year to prevent the parasite from entering. Ranchers in Sonora say this method was a mistake. -
Mexico’s foreign secretary says 14,000 Mexican nationals remain in immigration detention in the United States as Mexico pursues consular and legal action. -
The move comes after a nearly yearlong ban of Mexican cattle into the United States to protect against the New World screwworm parasite. -
The San Luis port of entry from Sonora, Mexico, is Arizona’s westernmost border crossing, and could see delays for four to five months starting later this month. -
No cases of the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite have been reported in Arizona, but USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in the state has recommendations for ranchers to protect against it.
