U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Photo: Google

PULSE NEWS MEXICO

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, March 28, confirmed what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said: Drug cartels control part of Mexico’s national territory.

Speaking before a U.S. Senate committee, Mayorkas defended bilateral cooperation with Mexico in the fight against narcotics, but echoed Blinken and a State Department report earlier this month, saying he considers that there are parts of Mexico that are controlled by cartels.

Mayorkas was asked by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in the Senate Judiciary Committee whether he agreed with the statements made last week by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who adamantly denied that parts of the country are under the control of the cartels.

“Do you agree with him?” Graham asked, to which Mayorkas replied, “I don’t.”

Immediately afterward, the senator pointed out, “Do you agree with Blinken that there are parts of Mexico run by drug cartels?” Mayorkas replied: “I do.”

Graham continued with his questions and asked Mayorkas if he considers Mexico “a trustworthy partner” in the fight against fentanyl and irregular migration, to which Mayorkas said that Mexico is working with the United States “in the fight against fentanyl.”