Less than a week ago, President Donald Trump threatened Mexico with tariffs unless the country increased its efforts to subdue fentanyl trafficking along the border. Heeding this warning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to boost support in exchange for Trump postponing the tariffs for 30 days.
As part of the agreement, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 troops to enhance border security as part of the country’s Operation Northern Border. It has only been a few days but so far, there have been positive results.
Four days after its implementation, authorities have arrested 139 people and seized over eight kilograms of fentanyl, according to reports. Dozens of firearms and numerous other drugs were also seized as part of the operation, including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine, through enforcement campaigns carried out in Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Baja California. Additionally, 16 properties and over 100 vehicles were taken by Mexican authorities.
While the early results have proved worthwhile thus far, Trump’s deal with Sheinbaum also had its fair share of critics. Skeptics of the arrangement believed it would result in little positive, with some saying the move to deploy troops was more symbolic than anything.
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“It’s a lot of shock and awe, but very little policy,” Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the U.S., told the New York Times. He said the new strategy to deter fentanyl smuggling might be pointless.
“It’s Whac-a-Mole,” said Sarukhan. “Most of the fentanyl goes through legal points of entry into the U.S., not between them, and that’s where most troops will be deployed: at illegal points of entry.”
