Antony Blinken in Mexico to strengthen cooperation against crime and human trafficking
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference in Mexico City, October 8, 2021. AP - Patrick Semansky
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
A new stage in relations between the United States and Mexico, this is what the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken and his Mexican counterpart Marcelo Ebrard announced on Friday, October 8.
Visiting Mexico City, the Secretary of State detailed a new common strategy to fight crime and human trafficking.
At the time of the visit, 652 migrants from Central America had been arrested in trucks.
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Of the 652 Central American migrants arrested, more than half were minors.
They were traveling in trucks several hundred kilometers from the border between the two countries, towards the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico.
Four of the drivers were arrested.
In terms of migration, cooperation between Mexico and the United States is strengthening, explains Professor Raul Benitez, of the North American research center at the University of Mexico, at the microphone of
Aida Palau
, of the Spanish editorial staff. by RFI. “
The Mexican government, in agreement with the United States, prohibits migrants from traveling by bus in the territory of Mexico if they do not have proper papers. So since a lot of heavy goods vehicles coming to deliver goods to Mexico go up empty to the United States, they take migrants.
"
“
Organized crime manages this traffic, but it is sometimes the drivers themselves who do it to earn money,”
continues Raul Benitez.
For their part, US customs are only able to control 2-3% of the trucks crossing.
But the Mexican National Guard has stepped up its surveillance, following the signing of a migration agreement between the two countries.
The national guard - but also the police - stop more convoys.
Because often the police at the local level know the criminals, and the central government now demands that they stop human trafficking.
"
►
See also: Migrants in the United States: mass expulsions in Texas, Mexico City asks Washington for help
Tackling the "
root causes
" of illegal immigration
“
The journey is dangerous and has no chance of success,
” said Antony Blinken of illegal immigration, promising to tackle the “
root causes
” of illegal immigration.
"
We want US-Mexican relations to go much further than migration and security issues,
" he concluded.
It was the second visit to Mexico by a high-ranking US official since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January, following Vice President Kamala Harris's visit in June.
►
To listen: Immigration to the United States: Kamala Harris visiting the Mexican border
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United States
Mexico
International Migration
Criminality