DEA announced Project Portero as an initiative to strengthen collaboration with Mexican partners to disrupt smuggling networks that deliver fentanyl and cocaine into the United States. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly denied any agreement with the DEA, saying she and major security officials learned of the DEA statement only when it was released and asserting there is no specific agreement with that U.S. agency. The DEA described Project Portero as targeting cartel "gatekeepers" who control smuggling corridors, aiming to strike at cartel command-and-control. The identities of the DEA's Mexican partners remain unclear.
However, the following day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied any agreement with the DEA. They issued the statement we don't know the basis for it. We haven't reached any agreement, she emphasized at her daily press conference. I learned about the statement at that same time [as you did]... as did the secretary of security [and civilian protection], the attorney general, the secretary of defense and the [secretary of the] navy, Sheinbaum explained.
The only information available about Project Portero comes from the DEA's statement. It's defined as a flagship initiative aimed at dismantling the gatekeepers cartel members who control the smuggling corridors through which fentanyl and cocaine flow from Mexico into the United States, with weapons and cash coming in the other direction. By specifically targeting them, DEA and its partners are striking at the heart of cartel command-and-control, the statement said.
Collection
[
|
...
]