Photo: Deposit Photos

By KELIN DILLON

Following a meeting between U.S., Mexican and Canadian authorities at Mexico’s National Palace on Wednesday, Feb. 7 as part of the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee (CTF),  the United States announced it has invited Mexico to add its agents to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Targeting Centers to accelerate the neighboring nations’ exchange of criminal intelligence.

“To increase and accelerate the sharing of information on criminals and illicit activities associated with fentanyl and firearms trafficking, the United States invited Mexico to staff the CBP National Targeting Center,” said the countries in a joint statement.

Mexico will now be able to join Canadian and U..S. officials at the National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia, where agents work to identify travelers attempting to enter the United States who may be potential terrorists or criminals.

The three nations also announced they would be increasing actions to stop the movement of equipment and production materials involved in the fentanyl trade, as well as adding additional post-mortem drug analysis protocols and upping the use of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) eTrace database.

“In addition, we plan to convene a forum to discuss strategies to assist in the long-term recovery of individuals with substance abuse disorders,” said the joint statement.

“We are optimistic that our collective efforts will help keep our citizens and communities safe, strengthening our actions to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl and firearms across our shared borders, increasing investigations and prosecutions of the criminals behind them. heinous crimes, and supporting our citizens affected by these crimes and building safer and healthier communities,” concluded the statement.