Being the right-hand man of President Claudia Sheinbaum in the fight against organized crime in Mexico is no easy task, but the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar Garcia Harfuch, works tirelessly to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the administration.

The official explained this during an interview with The New York Times New York Times, the first interview he has granted to the international press.

Seated in his office, where he receives daily updates on homicides, arrests, seizures, and the dismantling of drug labs, Garcia Harfuch told the American newspaper that, despite the progress in the fight against crime, the public's perception is sometimes less than ideal.

“I am convinced that it will be like in Mexico City. First, we started to see a decrease in homicides and robberies of passengers. Once that started to decrease, it took a long time for the perception to change. But it did change,” he stated.

To support these advances, he mentioned the 37,000 criminals arrested since the beginning of his administration, the 300 tons of drugs seized, and the 1,600 labs destroyed.

Cooperation with the U.S.

But an important aspect of the fight against organized crime is the collaboration between Mexico and the United States, which was described by the interviewed as good.

“When President Trump arrived, there was obviously a clearer concern about how we were going to work. We started explaining our working method to them. We showed them the results we were achieving,” the official commented.

“We also explained that it was very important to align priorities, because for many years Mexico and the United States only targeted one drug trafficker… Having isolated cases, only of isolated individuals, however important they may be in a criminal structure, doesn't change anything. What we are doing is striking at the bottom, the middle, and the top of the criminal structure. Everywhere,” the secretary added.When questioned about the possibility of joint operations between Mexico and the United States, Garcia Harfuch emphasized: “I don’t see why that would be necessary. What we need is information. The exchange of information is more than welcome, the exchange of intelligence.” He added that both countries were sharing more information to stem the flow of drugs north and weapons south, including U.S. surveillance flights over Mexico at the request of the Mexican government. “We have highly trained army and special forces units… What we need is information,” he reiterated. Thus, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection made it clear that, although cooperation with the United States is flowing smoothly, the fight against criminal organizations in Mexico is the exclusive responsibility of his country.