Mica for cartelinsider.com
“Kenneth Lee Salazar, head of the US Embassy in Mexico, stated on January 25, 2024, that the military-grade weapons being trafficked in Mexican territory – allegedly detected by the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) – do not belong to the US Army.”
According to the American diplomat, the confiscated weapons were of a caliber reserved for use by the United States Army, but that did not mean that they belonged to the US Armed Forces.
““They are not weapons of the United States Army, as far as I know, because I have no information, in the two and a half years that I have been here, that these are weapons that come from the United States Army,” Salazar stated during an interview with representatives from various media outlets, after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the Accreditation Manager Workshop for the Accreditation Commission for Law Enforcement Agencies.”
Through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Office in Mexico, the Embassy of the United States collaborated with 71 security institutions in 26 states of Mexico to obtain their accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
However, the head of the US Embassy in Mexico said that they were taking the report from SEDENA seriously and that they were carrying out a process of exchanging information between both governments.
“That [the weapons] have the calibers used by the Army, that is possible, but they are not, in my view and from the information I have, from the United States Army; however, since it is a topic, let’s see what the reality is, because we are united, President [Joseph] Biden and President [Andrés Manuel] López Obrador, to do everything possible to reduce the flow of weapons that arrive in Mexico,” commented Salazar. “
“Nearly 70 percent of the weapons that arrive in Mexico come from the United States, these illegal weapons cause a lot of violence in Mexico, they bring a lot of pain […] These assault weapons, of a military type and high caliber, which should only be in the hands of the military or the police, often end up in the hands of organized crime or people who use these weapons to kill many people in both the United States and Mexico,” emphasized the American diplomat.
On January 22nd, 2024, Salazar stated that the U.S. government offered to review the trafficking of arms exclusively used by the U.S. Army to Mexican territory, detected by the Secretariat of National Defense.
On the same day, Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), revealed that SEDENA made this statement in the high-level bilateral meeting held on Friday, January 19, 2024, in Washington D.C.
“The matter raised by Secretary General Luis Cresencio Sandoval [González], we are going to look into that, we are committed to working with SEDENA to see what is there. And for the moment, it’s just the direction, I don’t have any further information to share with you”, stated the American diplomat.
“I didn’t have it on my radar, so when there’s a dialogue like the one we’re having with the Mexican government, when something like that happens, there’s an exchange of information, so, just like with many other topics, we take it and investigate it, and we’ll see what happens, but we don’t have a report about it yet,” Salazar responded during a press conference.
The head of the United States Embassy in Mexico recalled that combating the transfer of weapons from the United States to Mexico was a priority for the government led by President Joseph Biden.
“Arms are a priority for President Biden, to reduce the flow of weapons coming from the United States to Mexico. We are aware that 70 percent of the weapons causing violence here in Mexico, as well as in the United States, come from the United States,” insisted the US diplomat.
“Then yes, it is part of what needs to be addressed with a plan that we already have and when the delegation from the United States comes in early February, we will be very focused on three topics, but one of the topics will be the flow of arms towards the south,” Salazar explained.
The U.S. ambassador highlighted that, since 2023, penalties for arms trafficking in the United States have become more severe. Additionally, he stated that the U.S. Prosecutor’s Office was taking actions to dismantle criminal groups dedicated to this illicit activity.
“Within the United States Attorney’s Office for Garland, there is a major effort to dismantle these criminal networks and to bring those involved in these crimes to investigation, but also to ensure they face trial and serve time in prison. We have already handled numerous cases,” added the American diplomat.
“We, on behalf of the United States, are making much more effort on the border between the United States and Mexico, trying to reduce the flow of weapons coming from the United States to Mexico,” Salazar pointed out, adding that the US had the eTrace program, which allowed them to trace the origin of weapons.
“There are many things that need to be done, for example, the exchange of information. We have an e-Trace program in the United States, where we can locate, knowing the weapon, we can locate where that weapon came from, where it was sold, so we are working closely with Secretary Rosa Icela [Rodríguez Velázquez] to make efforts for a much deeper exchange of information on arms,” concluded Salazar.”
“There is a very important thing and that is that the Secretariat of Defense alerted the United States: about weapons entering Mexico that are exclusive for use by the American army and it is very urgent that an investigation be carried out on this matter,” said the Mexican foreign minister, during the presidential morning press conference, held in Querétaro.”
Thanks for reading!
Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
Follow: https://twitter.com/cartelinsider1
Discover more from Cartel Insider
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
