“We are going against criminal networks in their entirety”
The phrase from US Ambassador Ronald Johnson is not a diplomatic greeting. It is a declaration of war. A war against money that keeps the cartels and their terror structures alive.
“Combating money laundering is not just a technical issue, it is a strategic priority to dismantle the financial networks that support cartels and narco-terrorist organizations,”
Johnson made it clear on his social networks after a workshop with Mexican authorities. The objective is no longer just the bosses or the shipments. Now they are going after the blood of the monster: its financial system.
An alliance under new management
What is interesting here is the political framework you mention. He speaks of cooperation “promoted by Donald Trump and President Claudia Sheinbaum.” Two figures that, on the global stage, represent opposite poles.
But in this theater, they share the stage. The threat is so great that it forces unthinkable alliances. The message is clear: this transcends partisan colors.
The strategy has three legs: cutting resources, interrupting operations and delivering real results. Sounds good on paper, right? But here’s the trick.
Dismantling financial networks requires more than workshops and statements. It demands unreservedly shared intelligence, monitoring of opaque capital and coordinated hits where it hurts most: accounts in tax havens, legal investments that launder dirty money.
My father told me: “In politics, watch who puts up the money.” Today, the battle is precisely over that money. If you cut off the flow to these organizations, they bleed to death. They become vulnerable.
The question I ask myself, the same one my teacher wife would ask me while preparing dinner, is: will these efforts reach the roots? Because many times they attack the visible branches while the trunk remains firm.
Johnson promises “real results to make our people safer.” That will be the real test. Joint statements or formal photos are not enough. People on both sides of the border need to see real collapses of criminal economic structures.
This offensive announced today could be the first act of something big… or just another speech in the eternal drama of the war on drugs. The curtain opens. Now it’s time to see the work.
