In Mexico, Restrictions on U.S. Drug Agents Signal Drug War Shift

Mexico's new President, Enrique Pena Nieto, has ordered changes to Mexico's anti-narcotics partnership with the United States.  President Pena Nieto has made the decision to limit the ability of American agents to operate in Mexico.  This decision has dismayed U.S. law enforcement agencies who are now instructed to give all intelligence to Mexico's Interior Ministry.  In the past, under Felipe Calderon's administration, U.S. agencies chose which Mexican force (army, navy or federal police) to give sensitive information. At a recent news conference with President Obama, Pena Nieto insisted that drug war cooperation was still intact, but that Mexico was seeking a more "efficient" strategy.  "We are going to use one single channel in order to be more efficient, to attain better results." Under former President Calderon, the United States and Mexico shared similar goals:  to seize drugs and to dismantle cartels.  He allowed U.S. agencies to gather intelligence on drug cartel suspects and work with whichever Mexican security forces they deemed trustworthy and effective. Pena Nieto's new protocols have forced the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, CIA and other agencies to work through Mexico's central government rather than their trusted military contacts.  American officials stress that this will put "a deep chill on cooperation."

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