This is how the new head of the DEA denounced the collusion between drug traffickers and officials in Mexico in 2020.
“The Mexican government at the highest level is complicit and works hand in hand with these cartels at all levels of manufacturing, transportation, and distribution,” said Terry Cole, recently appointed by Trump as head of the anti-drug agency, in 2020.
“The Mexican drug cartels work hand in hand with corrupt officials of the Mexican government at the highest levels.”
This is how Terry Cole, recently appointed by Donald Trump as the new head of the United States Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), described the situation of drug trafficking in Mexico in 2020.
In his announcement on Tuesday, February 11, Donald Trump described Terrance C. Cole as a DEA veteran with 21 years of experience and missions in Colombia, Afghanistan, and Mexico City.
In April 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Cole gave an interview to Breitbart, a far-right news site then linked to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and which at the time was one of the tycoon’s main platforms in his presidential campaign for Donald Trump.
“They work hand in hand”
Cole spoke to Breitbart in the context of a report in which it was reported that university graduates with a chemistry degree contributed to the production of fentanyl for the Sinaloa Cartel.
In that interview, Cole described from his experience the relationship between criminal groups and the government, to the point of pointing out that sometimes it was difficult to recognize “who is who.”
“The Mexican drug cartels work hand in hand with corrupt officials of the Mexican government at high levels.
“If the average taxpayer had a basic understanding of how these two groups work together even now, they would be disgusted. “It’s sometimes hard to know who’s who when dealing with cartels, federal police, military forces, and the federal government,” Cole said.
The text is signed by Jaeson Jones, a retired captain of the Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. While on duty, he managed the daily operations of the Border Security Operations Center of the special corps of agents known as the Texas Rangers.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Cole was the DEA’s deputy regional director for Mexico in Mexico City from December 2018 to December 2019, during Trump’s first presidency.
Cole’s views are in line with Donald Trump’s accusation that there is an alliance between the Mexican government and the cartels, in his justification for imposing tariffs.
The production of fentanyl
In the conversation with Jaeson Jones, Terry Cole recounted how the Mexican cartels obtained chemical precursors from China.
“The chemicals are ordered in bulk through the cartels’ Chinese contacts in Mexico. They are shipped by cargo ship as legitimate goods listed on standard bills of lading and invoices.
“The ships arrive, for example, at the ports of Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Veracruz, and Ensenada. These ports are under the control of drug trafficking organizations that facilitate smooth arrival, safe passage, and then delivery to the laboratories.
According to the newly appointed DEA chief, the manufacturing and construction of fentanyl laboratories in Mexico began with the Sinaloa Cartel in 2014 to take advantage of the opioid crisis in the United States.
“The cartel saw that the market was changing and immediately worked to fill the gap with fentanyl. Sinaloa understands the illicit narcotics market better than anyone and adapts very quickly.”
Frustration
The author recounted at one point in the article the DEA agent’s frustration with Mexican government corruption.
“As I mentioned before, the American people have spent billions of taxpayer dollars in Mexico to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States and strengthen the government’s ability to combat the cartels. Billions spent, and what do they have to show for it? Very little, if you ask me. The Mexican government at the highest level is complicit and works hand in hand with these cartels at every level of manufacturing, transportation, and distribution.
“Elite units like Semar (the Mexican Navy) are completely marginalized and are not allowed by the current administration to pursue cartel leaders. When I retired, U.S. law enforcement had about 65 clandestine methamphetamine labs to target without any Mexican elements of agency to carry out the operations,” he lamented in the 2020 interview.
Source: Proceso
