Officials of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Mexican authorities announced on Wednesday new strategies that will help the two agencies combat the international Mexican drug cartels from Mexico. One of the focal points of this crackdown operation is hitting the cartels right at the very heart of their financing system.
In a press conference held in Chicago on Wednesday, DEA Chicago's chief, Brian McKnight said that the drug cartel problem no longer just concerns the USA.
"This is an international problem," the DEA official said and was quoted over at NBC.
With such a growing threat in the society, DEA and officials from Mexico convened to devise sets of strategy that will ultimately end the drug cartel operations.
This new cooperative push from the two American neighbors is in response to the recently-reported violence shooting in Chicago which claimed the lives of nearly 11 people, plus 50 more who were injured during the gang-related scuffle.
The New Plans
One of the main focal points emphasized during the bilateral convention was the implementation of strategies that will attack the financial infrastructure of the cartels.
According to Anthony Williams, DEA Chief of Operations, targeting cartels' finances is very crucial in stopping these illegal operations. After all, the main purpose of such dealings is to generate revenue and nothing else, the report from VOA News indicated.
There's also a call to form a new enforcement group that will be based in Chicago. This newly-formed branch of the agency will concentrate on dealing with the international investigation of the cartels.
Meanwhile, the DEA will continue to target cartel drug lords in its bid to critically disrupt the illegal operations of these powerful and violent syndicates.
One of the pinnacle achievements of the DEA, with the full assistance of the Mexican government, was the arrest of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel head, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The drug lord has recently been extradited to New York in 2017 after the numerous arrests made on the person between the period of 2001 and 2016.
Picking up the crumbs left by the captured leader is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or the CJNG with its leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. "El Mencho." With the arrest of the latter's wife, DEA, Mexican police, and the Interpol are now closing in on his capture.
Mexico is considered the main channel through which cocaine and other illegal substances, including heroin, get to the United States. The South American country also supplies the USA with methamphetamines and marijuana.
