On February 6-7, Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall led an interagency delegation to Mexico to strengthen cooperation with our Mexican partners on a range of topics of vital mutual interest, including managing hemispheric migration and countering the trafficking of illicit drugs and weapons. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma, Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegallo, and Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Adam Cohen accompanied Dr. Sherwood-Randall on this delegation.
Yesterday, Dr. Sherwood-Randall and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena. Dr. Sherwood-Randall expressed appreciation to President López Obrador for the continued constructive and candid dialogue between our two countries, which was exemplified by last Saturday's telephone conversation between President Joe Biden and President López Obrador on February 3 and these meetings in Mexico City. Additionally, the full interagency delegation met with counterparts in the Mexican Security Cabinet. They discussed the importance of increasing enforcement measures to deter irregular migration, expanding safe and lawful migration pathways, and strengthening cooperation to stem the cross-border flows of illicit drugs and weapons. The two delegations agreed on specifics steps to achieve shared goals and on timelines for implementation. They also agreed to increase information and data sharing to facilitate action against the criminal organizations that traffic people, guns, and illicit drugs, including fentanyl, into our communities. The two delegations reaffirmed the United States and Mexico's commitment to a united fight against the criminal organizations that prey on vulnerable populations in both countries and jeopardize public health and safety.
Today, Dr. Sherwood-Randall and the U.S. delegation will participate in the fourth meeting of the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee with our Mexican and Canadian partners. This committee of high-level officials from the United States, Mexico, and Canada was established in 2023 by President Biden, President López Obrador, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to develop and implement aggressive actions to counter the production, smuggling, distribution, and consumption of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drugs in North America.
