Organized crime expert: US subsidizes cartels with ‘state-of-the-art technology’

Dr. Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, head of the security research programs at the Center for US-Mexico Studies and the University of California San Diego, said the US has failed to tackle firearms trafficking to Mexico, which has resulted in “subsidizing ‘ of the costs of criminal groups, mainly Mexican drug cartels. Farfan-Mendez made her statement during a Congressional hearing titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives” before the House Judiciary Committee on September 10.

“Simply put, by not addressing firearms trafficking to Mexico, the U.S. is subsidizing the operating costs of criminal groups.” Farfán-Méndez said. “It’s as if cartels receive an annual bailout package with state-of-the-art technology. to carry out the crimes this Congress wants to stop.”

According to her testimony, cartels smuggle firearms and drugs, commit murders and other violent crimes.

She highlighted the interconnected tragedies of murders, disappearances and overdoses that affect both the U.S. and Mexico. Farfán-Méndez said there is a need for transnational solutions to these complex problems.

Farfán-Méndez said the firearms trade from the US to Mexico is escalating violence in Mexico, making criminal groups more deadly and increasing public fear.

She said that by failing to tackle gun trafficking, the US is indirectly subsidizing criminal operations in Mexico.

Farfán-Méndez called on the U.S. government to implement evidence-based policies, support legislation such as the Stop Arming Cartels Act, and improve cooperation with Mexico through mutual monitoring mechanisms and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

She said there must be an approach to border security that goes beyond detention and seizures, and a joint naloxone distribution program to combat fentanyl-related deaths.

According to the Institute of the Americas, Dr. Cecelia Farfán-Méndez researcher at the Institute on Global Conflicts and Cooperation at the University of San Diego and the Center for Studies on Security, Intelligence, and Governance (CESIG) at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She received her doctorate in political science from UC Santa Barbara, her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and her bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She is an expert on organized crime and has consulted with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Organization of American States, the United States Institute for Peace and USAID.