Drug Cartels and the Mexican Government Are the Same; There Is a “Deadly Connection”: DEA
This article by the La Jornada editorial staff originally appeared in the July 14, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.
The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Terry Cole, stated, without presenting evidence, that there is a “deadly connection” between the drug cartels and the Mexican government, and asserted that for the agency the fight against criminal organizations is the “number one priority,” during his speech at the first Fentanyl-Free United States Summit. “We put the full power of this agency into the fight against the cartels, against the facilitators, the distributors, the money launderers, the supply of chemical substances, and anyone who profits from poisoning American citizens. This includes the deadly connection between the cartel networks and the Mexican government. They are the same. And at the DEA, they are our number one priority,” the official stated.
During the event, U.S. officials insisted that the fight against fentanyl must combine security measures with education and demand-reduction strategies, while reiterating the DEA’s commitment to going after the production, distribution, and money-laundering networks linked to drug trafficking.
“The United States is watching and is counterattacking. We are not here simply to talk about the fentanyl crisis, we are here to demand action,” Cole added.
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Sheinbaum Kicks Off the National Reforestation Day in Puebla; the Goal Is to Plant 6.6 Million Trees in a Day
Sheinbaum decreed the reforestation day an annual event and proposed renaming the Cortés Pass, between two volcanoes, the ‘Pass of the Indigenous Peoples.’
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Archives of the PRI’s ‘Political Police’ Reveal Its ‘Tradition’ of Spying
Contralínea’s serial report on Mexico’s secret-police files shows the PRI spied on Sheinbaum from age 6, her mother (branded a ‘communist’), and AMLO from his start in politics, among a vast range of targets.
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Mexico and Brazil Strengthen Economic Ties; Foreign Minister Seeks New Investments
In São Paulo, Velasco courted Embraer and the state industry federation with Plan México, after meeting Lula and co-chairing the two countries’ VI Binational Commission.
