Washington DC, United States.- The Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, agreed with the Secretary of State Antony Blinken that there are parts of Mexico that are controlled by drug cartels.
During his appearance before the US Senate, Mayorkas was questioned by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham about President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s statements that parts of Mexico are not controlled by criminal groups.
The Republican senator also asked him if he thought Mexico was a reliable partner against immigration and the fight against fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has killed tens of thousands of Americans.
“We work with Mexico in the fight against fentanyl (…) We have handled large cases (together) and we are looking to improve our cooperation,” Mayorkas told him, who insisted on the need to deal not only with supply but also with demand.
“In addition to increasing our work with Mexico, we also need to address the fact that the precursor chemicals, as well as the equipment used to make ‘synthetic’ narcotics originate from China,” he added.
Mayorkas said that the United States is fighting alongside Mexico to control the fentanyl crisis and seeks to improve such cooperation.
Graham insisted on his request to consider the Mexican cartels terrorist organizations and asked the Secretary of Homeland Security if he agreed with this. Mayorkas responded that in addition to being a difficult question, it was the responsibility of the State Department to make that decision.
Graham’s questions focused on the fentanyl poisoning of Americans from Mexico and the immigration crisis on the southern border.
For his part, Democrat Coorey Booker also touched on the issue of fentanyl and stressed that the problem must be dealt with between Mexico and the United States.
Booker mentioned that the vast majority of weapons used by the cartels are of US origin, a statement Mayorkas agreed with.
The southern border was also a topic touched on in the session. Mayorkas asked that the fentanyl problem and the increase in migration at the border be understood as separate issues.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz questioned Mayorkas about the increase in migrant deaths on the border with Mexico and accused an increase since his arrival in office that reached 853 migrant deaths in 2022.
Cruz pressed the Secretary with the question of whether or not there is a crisis on the border, to which, in the Senator’s opinion, Mayorkas refused to answer clearly.
“Look in the mirror”
“We are working intensively to dedicate additional resources to the ports of entry” on the border with Mexico, where “more than 90% of the fentanyl” enters, “explained Mayorkas, who asked Congress for more funds in the fiscal year 2024 budget to add personnel and non-intrusive inspection technology.
One of the problems at the border is the use of drones that can be used, he said, to “try to transport illegal narcotics.”
The Biden government is focused on “eliminating traffickers” and “building safe, legal, and orderly pathways for people to get to the United States,” Mayorkas told lawmakers, boasting of the outcome of the plan announced in early January.
This new strategy, which allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to request asylum if they request it from countries through which they transit or through an online appointment, has sparked criticism from migrant defense organizations.
Since January “we have seen a 95 percent drop in the number of intercepted people of those four nationalities,” said Secretary Mayorkas.
Democratic Senator Peter Welch brought up a protest by López Obrador, who complains about the amount of weapons that enter Mexico from the United States and end up in the hands of the cartels.
“Are we doing everything we can to cooperate with the President to keep our weapons from going south?” Welch asked.
“Yes, we are,” Mayorkas replied.
Several Republicans like Ted Cruz called for his resignation, but his party came to his defense.
“It’s easy to be critical, but every member of Congress needs to look in the mirror,” said Richard Durbin, a Democrat. Because “only Congress can really fix” the immigration system.
