A promise we have heard before, but now with the name of a movie mission
It seems that the US administration has discovered fire, warm water and that weapons, surprise, cross the border. In an announcement that left us all speechless (from yawning so much), President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed that the United States has finally deigned to recognize what Mexico has been saying for decades: there is uncontrolled illegal arms trafficking. And your solution? A brilliant operation called “Firewall Mission”, a name that suggests more of a video game than a serious strategy against organized crime.
On Friday, in the glamorous border city of McAllen, Texas – because nothing says “we’re serious” like meeting in a place that looks like the set of a narco movie – the US-Mexico Security Implementation Group held its first meeting. Sheinbaum, with an optimism that would deserve an award, declared: “For the first time the United States recognizes that it has to carry out operations to control weapons.” Take it now! All it took was thousands of deaths, decades of violence, and for the problem to get so out of hand that they even had to invent missions with epic names.
The irony of tariffs: punish with one hand and promise to cooperate with the other
While President Donald Trump announced new levies that seem designed specifically to spite Mexico – 100% for medicines, because who needs to save lives when you can win a trade war? –, his administration promised security cooperation. The Mexican president, with a patience that would make a saint blush, commented that her government is in conversations with Washington and hopes that “there will be a consideration.” Translation: “Please, gentlemen, could you stop tripping us up while we try to work together?”
But not everything is joy and confetti in this bilateral circus. Security analyst David Saucedo had the audacity to express doubts, suggesting that this could be another smokescreen. In a statement that should be framed, he said: “I have the impression that in reality the bulk of the cooperation between Mexico and the United States is not to combat arms trafficking, but to achieve greater cooperation between Mexico and the United States to control illegal drug shipments.” Whoa, whoa, someone dares to question the official narrative. What a rebel.
The miraculous technology that will solve everything (according to them)
The United States Embassy in Mexico announced with great fanfare that Mexican authorities will use the eTrace system – developed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – to track firearms. Because nothing says “mutual trust” like giving your neighbor an app to track the things you illegally sold them yourself. This wonderful system allows you to submit weapons trace requests and store results electronically. Isn’t it moving? It’s like putting GPS on the bullets that have already been fired at you.
As part of this revolutionary agreement, the United States will intensify inspections and coordination with Mexico. What they do not specify is whether these inspections will be more effective than those that allowed, according to a report from the US Department of Justice, 74% of the weapons recovered in Mexico between 2017 and 2021 to come from the United States. Basic mathematics: if three out of four weapons come from the north, perhaps the problem is not that Mexico does not know how to track them, but that the United States does not know how to stop producing them and selling them as if they were candy.
The elephant in the room: the lawsuit that no one wants to mention
In 2021, during the government of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico had the audacity to sue several American distributors, holding them responsible for the flow of illegal weapons and negligent business practices. The audacity, right? They were asking for compensation of at least $10 billion – an amount that is probably only what these companies earn on a weekend of special promotions.
But, surprise, a US judge has already dismissed one of the two lawsuits and the US Supreme Court unanimously blocked the Mexican government’s lawsuit. Because, let’s face it, who in their right mind would expect US courts to allow Mexico to win a lawsuit against the arms industry? That would be like expecting sharks to vote to ban swimming.
Other measures that sound good on paper
The authorities of both countries, in a burst of creativity, also committed to strengthening the exchange of information and creating a “secure platform” to intercept illicit drugs, chemical precursors, firearms and illicit fuels. Basically, they promised to do what they should have been doing for twenty years, but now with a cooler name and probably better graphic design.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to designate Mexican cartels as “terrorist organizations” – because labeling problems is always easier than solving them – and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the creation of a bilateral working group to combat cross-border illicit finances. Because nothing combats organized crime better than another commission, another working group and another information-sharing platform. I’m sure the bosses are shaking.
In short, we have renewed promises, new technology for old problems, and the same old dynamic: while one side demands concrete action, the other offers bureaucracy with a catchy name. But hey, at least they gave it a cool name: “Firewall Mission”. It sounds like an action movie, although it probably has more of a tragicomic comedy.
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