On Tuesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s party pushed through new legislation that will restrict the role of foreign law enforcement officers in the country. The US has been a critic of the law, stating that it believes the measures will cripple bilateral efforts to combat powerful drug cartels that are devastating to Mexico’s wellbeing and national security. The legislation passed by a vote of 329 to 98 in the lower house and comes amid the October arrest of Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos.
Gen. Cienfuegos is the former defense minister of Mexico and was arrested in the US on drug trafficking and corruption charges. President López Obrador used the incident to question the authority of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, declaring it a rogue agency seeking to upheave Mexican sovereignty. The new law reduces the operations of foreign agents, likely targeted towards US law enforcement agents such as the DEA. The new law is a blow to the US Department of Justice, according to critics.
Read More: Mexico Passes Law Curbing Operations of Foreign Security Agents
