Salazar contradicts the DEA: operation was only Mexican

Georgina Saldierna and Andrea Becerril

Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, July 17, 2022, p. 4

The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, clarified that the arrest of drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero was carried out exclusively by the Mexican government and that no personnel from his country participated in the tactical operation that resulted in the arrest.

He added that the arrest of someone who for a long time terrorized Mexican citizens and is implicated in the torture and death of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent is a milestone not only for our governments, but also for the people of our countries.

The diplomat remarked that successful mexican operation exemplifies what we can accomplish by working together to safeguard the citizens of mexico and the united states.

In addition, legislators from Morena lamented that the groups opposed to the federal government do not recognize that the capture of one of the drug trafficking bosses in the country is positive news, and dedicate themselves only to speculating and making comments in bad faith about the combat strategy. to the organized crime of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

No way they would have hidden Caro Quintero and had him ready to arrest him when President Joe Biden asked for itresponded the deputy coordinator of Morena in the Chamber of Deputies, Leonel Godoy, to the versions of opponents who held since the day before the capture was agreed with the United States government.

If they do not recognize the successes of the federal government, it is better that they remain silent, it is the least that the opposition should do, and not continue with that clumsy and absurd strategy of seeing everything negative, without accepting that one of the capos of most wanted drugcommented the morenista senator César Cravioto.

Ambassador Salazar specified that the Secretary of the Navy carried out the operation successfully, for which he congratulated it, but lamented the loss of 14 brave mexican marines.

His statements came after high-level US intelligence sources assured that the DEA participated in the capture operation.

PAN deputy Santiago Creel Miranda recognized the López Obrador government and the Secretary of the Navy. Hopefully this is the beginning of intelligence work that reduces national and transnational organized crimehe expressed.