US Ambassador praises Mexico security work, highlights 'El Mencho' takedown

U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson lauded the "shoulder-to-shoulder" security collaboration between Mexico and the United States, emphasizing the benefits of joint agency work for both nations. Speaking at a U.S. Independence Day commemoration at the embassy, Johnson celebrated key actions against drug cartels, including the neutralization of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," a leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

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When we work together, both nations benefit. Our relationship should be the envy of the world, and it is up to us to achieve it.

Johnson highlighted that these successes occurred under the administrations of both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and former U.S. President Donald Trump. "When we work together, both nations benefit. Our relationship should be the envy of the world, and it is up to us to achieve it," he stated, adding that they are "writing a new chapter of our shared history."

The ambassador declared the border between Mexico and the United States to be the most secure in history, while acknowledging that more work remains. He noted a significant 35% reduction in overdose deaths in the U.S. and pointed to substantial seizures, including over 50,000 firearms by the U.S. and historic amounts of narcotics and dismantled drug laboratories by Mexico.

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Our agencies continue to work shoulder to shoulder, sharing information to combat transnational criminal and terrorist organizations, including operations targeting El Mencho and other cartel leaders, as well as four of the FBI's ten most-wanted fugitives.

Johnson also underscored the successful extradition of wanted individuals between the two countries, with over 300 fugitives returned from the U.S. to Mexico. He reiterated that security agencies continue to share information to combat transnational criminal organizations and terrorists, citing operations targeting "El Mencho" and other cartel leaders, as well as four of the FBI's ten most-wanted fugitives. He referenced the security during the World Cup as an example of successful binational coordination.

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We have been blessed with abundant resources. But when we work together, we achieve more, we advance faster, and we can do much more than simply get by: we can prosper.