García Harfuch earns DEA administrator’s praise at anti-drug trafficking conference

At the 40th International Drug Enforcement Conference in Buenos Aires, DEA Administrator Terrance "Terry" Cole publicly commended Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, calling him a "trusted partner" and "good friend of the United States." Cole spoke to delegates from over 100 countries about García Harfuch's extensive career in Mexico's Federal Police, Criminal Investigation Agency, and Security Ministry.

The DEA head emphasized García Harfuch's 18 years of public service protecting people, noting his personal familiarity with the challenges of combating transnational criminal organizations, such as the CJNG gang he narrowly avoided in June 2020. Cole also praised García Harfuch's commitment to intelligence sharing, targeting criminal leaders, disrupting supply chains, and dismantling networks.

In a separate speech, García Harfuch highlighted the cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting in the processing of 155 arrest warrants for extradition and the arrest of 14 individuals tied to drug trafficking, homicide, money laundering, human trafficking, and other criminal activities of transnational organizations. Regarding financial matters, García Harfuch reported that Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit had added over 2,300 subjects to its Block Persons List, frozen 8.6 billion pesos in assets (US $507 million), and blocked more than 24,600 accounts.

The Mexican official also shared the results of his ministry's efforts to reduce violent crime in the past two years, including 63,500 arrests for high-impact crimes, 32,800 firearms seized, and 518 metric tonnes of drugs confiscated. Daily homicides have dropped from 86 to 42, a more than 50% decrease. García Harfuch reaffirmed Mexico's commitment to international cooperation based on shared responsibility, reciprocity, mutual trust, and respect for sovereignty.