There´s a new Sheriff in Town: what’s next in the fight against organized crime in Mexico?

Mexican drug cartels ought to be very worried. But also the officials and companies that have been their accomplices for decades. The arrival of Claudia Sheinbaum to the presidency of Mexico and Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, has brought a revolution in the fight against crime. Both presidents understand that it is not possible to fight drug cartels in Mexico, nor to avoid the thousands of deaths of American citizens due to fentanyl consumption in the United States, without coordination and joint work.

Those of us who have worked in police and prosecutor’s training institutions, as well as in local and federal law enforcement offices in Mexico, have known this for decades: through its agencies, the United States of America has provided ample support to Mexican institutions linked to public safety and criminal justice. And this has not only been in terms of first level training, but also in materials, logistics and backup in anti-crime operations. Therefore, it is not surprising that we are seeing more and more joint work, since the arming and violence capabilities of organized crime has increased in recent years: the flights of American military aircrafts near the border with Mexico and the arrival of American destroyers to the port of Veracruz —to mention two examples— are evidence to everyone’s sight.

Leaving aside the political speeches of both presidents, I am referring to the sovereigntist or interventionist positions that both assume in public discourse, this is what is necessary in terms of joint fight against crime: 1. The inclusion of an anti-crime chapter in the USMCA, whose review, reform and ratification will begin this year, as announced by the Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard. 2. The design of transnational rules for criminal policy that will result in a common penal code for North America (USA-MEX-CAN). 3. The opening of borders for police and security agencies, which will have the capability to pursue “hot” offenders beyond the borders. 4. A common intelligence system for the live exchange of sensitive information and, 5. A common law enforcement force for North America composed of agents from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

I have no doubt that the process for the birth of this “Common System of Protection, Security and Justice for North America” has already begun. Its operation is a matter of time. I would now like to talk about the approach that such a system will have in its first stage. These should be, I think, its priorities: 1. The dismantling of the drug cartels. 2. The fight against human trafficking and human smuggling. 3. The prosecution and punishment of human exploitation, with special attention to child pornography, sex tourism and forced labor, as well as slavery. 4. Money laundering and financing of terrorism. The fight against corruption, focusing on the criminal liability of companies.

This is what is coming and what we North American criminal lawyers must work on. Criminals who are part of drug cartels, those who recruit children for organized crime, sexual exploiters, human traffickers, money launderers and companies involved in corruption schemes already know: there’s a new sheriff in town…