President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday denied her government had approved a new U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiative called Project Portero, a day after the agency announced it as a joint operation with Mexico.
“The DEA put out a statement yesterday saying there is an agreement with the Mexican government for an operation called Portero. There is no agreement,” Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference. “None of the security institutions have reached an agreement with the DEA.”
Sheinbaum said the only event involving Mexican personnel was a workshop in Texas attended by four police officers.
Neither the DEA nor the U.S. Embassy in Mexico responded to Sheinbaum’s statement.
A DEA news release on Monday described Project Portero as a “major new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico in the fight against cartels.”
According to the DEA, the program includes a multi-week training and collaboration program at a Southwest border intelligence center.
“The program brings together Mexican investigators with U.S. law enforcement, prosecutors, defense officials, and members of the intelligence community. Over the course of several weeks, participants will identify joint targets, develop coordinated enforcement strategies, and strengthen the exchange of intelligence,” DEA said.
Sheinbaum’s remarks came after recent joint efforts between Mexico and the U.S., including the extradition of 26 cartel suspects, among them members of the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
