The Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, highlighted that Mexico is cooperating on security matters with the United States and recognized that its right to defend its sovereignty must be respected, as stated by President Claudia Sheinbaum.

“I just returned from Mexico City, where I spoke with President Sheinbaum and her cabinet about the cooperation, and I will tell you that we have been impressed,” Mullin said in a hearing before the House Security Committee. “They have been very cooperative, much more so than the previous administration.”

Mullin refers to the collaboration of the government of President Donald Trump with that of Sheinbaum, which is greater than with the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The official highlighted what sovereignty represents for Mexico.

“They still believe in their sovereignty, and we have to respect that,” he added to the questioning of Representative Sheryl Lynn Biggs, Republican of South Carolina.

Biggs began his questioning about how President Trump's order to name drug cartels as terrorist organizations has impacted actions at the border.

Mullin began his response by highlighting the reinforcement of operations and surveillance in the border area and the collaboration with Mexican authorities and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies and the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).

“Through CBP and HSTF, and in collaboration with the Mexican government, we have achieved a record number of seizures of drugs, money and weapons, in addition to the arrest of cartel leaders,” noted Mullin. “They are very sophisticated and highly organized on every inch of our southern border, while Mexico's northern border is controlled by nine different cartels, which they call plazas, and each of them, in fact, most of the plaza bosses, we know them, we are looking for them, we are arresting them and we are constantly escalating the fight against this threat.”

The head of the DHS also highlighted the increase in drug seizures.

“We have seen an increase in drug seizures and a decrease in the availability of drugs in our cities,” he said. "We started attacking trafficking routes on their borders, now we are seeing them go underground. We are implementing that technology, but we need more collaboration."

Two governors in trouble?

Mullin's comments about Mexico occur in the midst of a controversy over the Los Angeles Times' revelations that the Trump administration withdrew the visas of two Mexican governors, who have a special entry permit, granted exclusively to those who can provide information of interest to the United States.

After accusations of drug trafficking against 10 Mexican politicians, including the licensed governor of Sinaloa Rubén Rocha Moya, the Trump administration has reportedly withdrawn the visas of the governors of Sonora, Alfonso Durazo, and of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, who have denied such facts.