“We started the fight against fentanyl and the arms trade in the United States,” acknowledged Ken Salazar

Amid discussions about how dismantle drug cartelsthe United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazaracknowledged on Tuesday that the fight against fentanyl and arms trafficking starts from his country.

In a statement, he stressed that the two problems are priority for the government of Joe Biden and that the administration of the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador it is a “crucial partner”.

“Our governments have reaffirmed their commitment to work together for our common security, in particular to unite their efforts against the illegal trafficking of fentanyl and weapons for the damage they represent for the well-being of our nations”, indicates the document.

Therefore, it has highlighted a series of actions to combat the scourge left by said synthetic drug that claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Americans in 2022:

– The draft budget for the 2023 financial year includes $42 billion for drug policy efforts to beat the overdose epidemic.

– Thanks to President Biden’s US bailout, we are investing $5 billion in addiction and mental health servicesincluding a historic $30 million investment in harm reduction.

– In the first year of the Bicentennial Framework, President Biden’s government invested more than $25 billion in addiction treatment and prohibition of illicit narcotics.

– In 2021, President Biden’s government invested more than $93 million in the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) Drug Free Communities program, the highest figure for this program focused on youth and families. Community coalitions in all 50 states worked with different sectors to reach nearly 57 million people.

Regarding the illegal flow of weapons to Mexico, he pointed out:

– The bipartisan Safer Communities Act reflects this commitment. For the first time, it’s classified as a crime with penalties of up to 25 years in prison.

– US authorities They increased gun confiscation by 300% of fire which, without these efforts, would have reached Mexico.

– Year with year More than 600,000 guns are seized in the United States.

A few hours earlier, the ambassador had been questioned in an interview with the media about the statements of President López Obrador, who had assured that “Mexico is safer” than the United States.

In this regard, he stated that in your country and in Mexico there are areas of violencebut that the important thing is to work together to solve problems such as drug cartels.

“The reality is that there is violence in Mexico and in the United States. We have to work on all of this as partners, recognizing that there are problems,” he acknowledged.

He said an example of the power the cartels have is the murder of two American citizens in Tamaulipas.

When asked if Drug Enforcement Administration officials (DEAfor its acronym in English) or the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) will participate in Mexican territory, he limited himself to answering that the sovereignty of Mexico will be respected.