Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador received a delegation of US officials led by Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, White House National Security Adviser, who along with Canada discussed the opioid crisis and cooperation to address the regional migration challenge.
As expected, the issue of the fight against fentanyl and arms trafficking, as well as the modernization of the shared border, arose at the meeting. Both López Obrador and Sherwood-Randall expressed on social networks that it was an excellent and productive meeting.
The White House abounded in written statements that the leaders reaffirmed “the commitment” to continue efforts under the Bicentennial Understanding on Security, Public Health and Secure Communities between Mexico and the US, which guides the actions of both countries on issues of social development.
“Our countries also recognize that uncovering, disrupting, and dismantling firearms trafficking networks is critical to our shared efforts to combat fentanyl,” the White House added.
On migration, the countries discussed regional challenges and “committed on regional migration” to “continue to forge a region-wide response, guided by the principles of the Los Angeles Declaration.”
The US and Mexico agreed to expand the availability of legal migration routes throughout the region and maintain the “strong consequences” for those who enter irregularly through the shared border.
The Mexican president affirmed that the good neighbor policy and between Mexico and the United States are advancing without problems, he said that the immigration issue was addressed with a focus on respect for human rights and cooperation for the development of peoples.
The private meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City lasted for just over three hours, ending around 9:00 p.m. in the midst of persistent rain.
The meeting was attended by Mexico’s designated Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, the Secretary of the Interior Luisa María Alcalde, the heads of the Armed Forces and the Attorney General of the Republic, Alejandro Gertz Manero.
The US delegation is made up of Richard Verma, Assistant Secretary for Administration and Resources of the Department of State, Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General, as well as Kristie Canegallo, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and the senior adviser to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Kemp Chester.
Among the US priorities, they also highlighted “continuing initiatives to increase legal pathways (migration) to the US, and taking steps to modernize and secure our shared border.”
[Con información de Sara Pablo desde México y Salomé Ramírez en Washington]
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