Sources from the Mexican delegation explained that at the high-level meeting on the ‘understanding’, which replaced the defunct Merida Plan, highly criticized and rejected by the current Mexican government for its eminently military nature.

Ebrard said they will also analyze what the objectives are final and how they go. He reminded his hosts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garand, and John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. President López Obrador launched a new security strategy which has a lot to do with addressing the causes of insecurity.

In rural areas, he informed them, Mexico has more than half a million people in the Sembrando Vida socioeconomic reforestation plan, and 2.2 million young people who did not have a job, nor were they studying, who are now covered by that program.

He pointed out that a National Guard was created -criticized by the United States-, and for the first time the government will control the entire territory, from the point of view of police work.

Another key piece is the Understanding with the United States, that’s why it’s called the Understanding, why?, he asked himself, because security problems are common.

He reported that this year Mexico seized more than 32,000 weapons, and we have, for the first time in years, a reduction in the homicide rate, more or less than 9.2 percent.

If these 32,000 weapons were in Mexico, and we had not worked together, we would not have had that reduction in murders.

Those 32,000 weapons, he said, mean 17 million cartridges, and each cartridge of those can kill someone in Mexico; It is not just a number, it is people who are saving their lives, he added.

The Mexican Foreign Minister offered figures for seizures So, that seems very important to us. We will see in a moment that tons of chemical substances and precursors have been achieved, including fentanyl, including 154 tons of methamphetamine, which would be enough for one dose for each of the 127 million Mexicans for more than 50 years.

Also 94 tons of cocaine, with a very prominent action in the interception of cocaine at sea and by air.

The meeting will last for more hours after which the parties confirmed that there will be a press conference.

ef/lam/lm