Downplaying cooperation erodes trust

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants to take full credit for the recent capture of notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero. But the signs point to some degree of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican governments.

At any rate, we welcome Caro Quintero’s arrest and other recent developments as evidence that the U.S. and Mexico are taking steps to mend their relationship despite what López Obrador’s rhetoric suggests.

Caro Quintero is no average drug lord. He served 28 years in prison for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In 2013, he walked free after a Mexican court overturned his 40-year sentence. Since then, Caro Quintero has been a thorn in U.S.-Mexico relations.

The timing of Caro Quintero’s capture does not seem coincidental. He was arrested three days after López Obrador and President Joe Biden met at the White House on July 12.

At a news conference last week, the Mexican president denied that the recent bilateral meeting with Biden had anything to do with Caro Quintero’s capture. But the head of the DEA, Anne Milgram, gave credit to her agency in a message to her staff:

“Our incredible DEA team in Mexico worked in partnership with Mexican authorities to capture and arrest Rafael Caro Quintero.”

No matter how López Obrador tries to frame this, Caro Quintero’s capture is a sign of some form of bilateral cooperation.

In the last couple of years, tensions have run high between Mexican officials and the DEA. In 2020, a new Mexican law stripped DEA agents in Mexico from diplomatic immunity and limited the agency’s operations. But recently, the new head of the DEA in Mexico was granted a visa, a sign of progress from the U.S perspective, according to reporting by The Associated Press.

We need more of whatever was happening behind the scenes that led to the operation that nabbed Caro Quintero and the Mexican welcome of the new DEA leader. It will be a shame if López Obrador fails to take advantage of Caro Quintero’s arrest — a political triumph by any means — to improve bilateral cooperation. The Mexico Institute of the D.C.-based think tank Wilson Center is not too optimistic.

It told us in a statement that “AMLO wants to make this a big win for his government, without crediting the U.S. for any possible involvement or support in the case.”

That is the wrong strategy when both countries share common interests in trade, immigration and fighting drug cartels.

Mexico’s homicide rate remained at historically high levels in 2021, at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Mexico Peace Index. That means there are 94 homicides per day.

We understand every government needs to rally its people. But by downplaying or outright ignoring Mexico’s partnership with the U.S., López Obrador is eroding trust that is vital in our countries’ war against the cartels.

— The Dallas Morning News