Mexican Operation to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking at the U.S. Border
Mexico carried out a large-scale traffic inspection operation at its border with the U.S. state of California as part of efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking into the United States and to avoid Washington imposing tariffs on its goods.
The operation took place (on Friday) at a border crossing in Tijuana, a city in northwestern Mexico with a population of 2.3 million, and involved dozens of National Guard personnel, according to AFP reporters. Sources from the National Guard informed the agency that the personnel “focused mainly on the issue of fentanyl.” These officers were part of forces deployed by Mexico at the U.S. border on Tuesday in response to a suspension of the U.S. threat to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican goods.
The border inspection efforts aim to stop the trafficking of fentanyl, a potent opioid responsible for 75,000 American deaths annually, and to curb irregular migration toward the United States.
This security deployment at the border is part of an agreement signed on Monday between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. President Donald Trump, who, in turn, suspended for one month his threat of imposing tariffs on Mexican goods.
Trump has criticized Mexico for not doing enough to reduce the trafficking of fentanyl, which is responsible for a significant health crisis in the U.S.
