Mexican president rejects US allegations that cartels gave bounties to immigration agents | Trump administration

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government has “no information” regarding the Trump administration’s claims that Mexican cartels offer bounties to U.S. immigration agents.

“We are asking for information but there is none,” Sheinbaum said during his morning news conference Wednesday. “We learned it, just like you, via [the Department of Homeland Security’s] publication.”

Sheinbaum’s comments come a day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Mexican criminal factions were coordinating with U.S.-based gangs to target agency officials.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem later reiterated her claims, posting on social media that Trump had been “so effective in dismantling cartel operations” in the United States that cartel members in the United States are now “putting a bounty on the heads of our agents.”

But organized crime experts have expressed skepticism about the claims.

In interviews, a former Mexican cartel trafficker, two former DEA agents and a drug policy expert all said it was highly unlikely that Mexican organized crime groups would run U.S.-based gangs to target immigration officials.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and other agencies have conducted a massive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago in recent weeks, provoking a backlash from protesters and lawmakers over the heavy-handed tactics.

According to the DHS, Mexican cartels offered “targeted bounties” of $2,000 to reveal the identities of agents, between $5,000 and $10,000 to kidnap ICE agents, and up to $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officials.

But those claims were dismissed out of hand by Margarito Flores, a former Sinaloa cartel drug trafficker in Chicago, who said targeting U.S. officials in the United States would draw unwanted attention to criminal groups whose priorities are commercial, not political.

Flores did not rule out the possibility of individual gang members attacking officials, but said the cartel’s claim of bounties was “ridiculous.”

After his arrest, Flores cooperated with the U.S. government and now trains law enforcement officers nationwide on topics related to Mexican organized crime.

“There is an unwritten rule that you should not mess with law enforcement. [Mexican cartels] know the consequences of that,” he said.

Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former head of international operations who worked in Mexico for years, also rejected the claims.

“The cartels are not going to target Ice and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] “It would hurt their organizations, in terms of getting drugs into the United States.”

The origin of the allegations remains unclear. Earlier this month, a DHS press release claimed that an informant told authorities that a member of the Latin Kings had launched a “hit” against Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino.

But DHS has provided no evidence that the alleged “hit” came from a Mexican organized crime group.

According to Flores, local gangs like the Latin Kings have limited affiliations with Mexican criminal groups. “They may be clients of the drug cartels, but they are their own organization run by gang members. The cartels have no authority.”

Although Mexican organized crime groups use extreme violence to protect their drug trafficking routes and activities, attacks on U.S. law enforcement officials – particularly in the United States – are rare.

“We have very limited information [about the alleged threat]” said Nathan P Jones, associate professor of security studies at Sam Houston State University. “I’m immediately skeptical that this is a real threat.”

Mexican criminal groups have targeted U.S. officials in Mexico, including in a notorious case dating from the 1980s currently pending in U.S. federal court.

In 1985, the Guadalajara cartel kidnapped, tortured, and killed DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in Guadalajara. The murder resulted in the largest homicide investigation ever conducted by the DEA, which even deployed bounty hunters to capture several suspects. The crackdown ultimately led to the fracturing and dissolution of the Guadalajara Cartel, and one of the alleged cartel leaders responsible for the affair is currently being prosecuted in a New York court.

According to Flores and Jones, the Camarena case taught Mexican organized crime groups a lesson: Don’t target U.S. officials.

Vigil points out that the Trump administration is trying to push false accusations to justify its political agenda, fomenting fear in order to “normalize sending Ice agents, acting as its Gestapo, onto the streets of the United States.”

Flores warned that such rumors would directly worsen an already volatile situation.

“Imagine you’re on the field,” Flores said. “And now it’s in the back of your mind that you have a bounty.

“The next thing you know, every cell phone will be a gun. »