:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/4T2HUBXYPRANPH7PORE6TFAYYA.jpg "US general says to fight Mexican cartels, arms sales must be stopped")
For the head of the United States Northern Command, Glen VanHerck, the best way to fight drug cartels in Mexico is to stop the sale of weapons to these criminal groups.
This is what he said this Thursday during a hearing before the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, where he explained that the cartels have demonstrated their capacity for weapons, and therefore control the distribution of fentanyl. , cocaine, methamphetamine and different drugs.
“We need to focus on what is going south, not just what is coming north”
“They are vying for control of lucrative illicit markets. The cartels control the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, in addition to other drugs. And they demonstrate their ability to use improvised explosives and small unmanned aerial systems against Mexican security forces in Mexico, which will likely embolden the cartels and challenge our partners,” he added.
In this sense, he assured that the Northern Command is working in coordination with Luis Cresencio Sandoval, head of the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), and with Rafael Ojeda Durán, head of the Secretary of the Navy (Semar), to implement implementing security policies. for both countries.
“(We are working) to provide intelligence to investigate the money that is being sent south, the weapons that are being sent south, which is crucial and we will continue to work on that.”
On the other hand, VanHerck congratulated the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the arrest of Caro Quintero, Ovidio Guzmán and José Rodolfo Villareal Hernández, alias “El Gato”, which, he assured, reaffirms the commitment of the Mexican government to continue the fight against organized crime.
“These arrests are examples of a shared commitment to justice, underpinned by shared values and our decades-long partnership.”
“The Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) and the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) continue to face enormous internal and external security challenges with professionalism and resilience,” he said.
In March 2021, VanHerck issued a controversial statement, when he pointed out that the cartels operate in up to 35% of Mexican territory, “areas that are often ungovernable” and that this causes many problems in the United States.