Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum informed this Thursday that her Government is seeking to maintain the coordination scheme with the United States on maritime matters, following an attack on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in international waters days ago, in which one person is said to have survived. Sheinbaum detailed that today a meeting will take place between the Secretary of the Navy and representatives of the US Coast Guard, in addition to a meeting being sought with the Southern Command and the US Department of State. The President insisted that the Mexican Government will continue to defend national sovereignty and apply security agreements on the terms previously established with Washington. She added that in the case of the geographical location related to Mexico, operations are to continue as per the previously established scheme. The incident has raised concern in the Mexican Government over the possible violation of its maritime sovereignty, while bilateral talks continue to clarify the facts and strengthen coordination mechanisms. Sheinbaum explained that the existing collaboration model involves information about suspicious vessels being provided by US authorities to the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), but intervention in waters under Mexican jurisdiction must be carried out exclusively by national forces. “It has to do with information that is provided to the Secretariat of the Navy so that (…) obviously in our continental zone and in the economic zone, it must be Mexican forces, and in the case of international waters that may be within the length of the national territory, what we were doing, which is the capture of these vessels,” she said. On the other hand, the Mexican President specified that there is still no information on the survivor of the attack on boats allegedly loaded with drugs by the United States last Tuesday. Mexico and the United States dialogued on Tuesday about “maritime cooperation” following the US attack. “Our goal is for the scheme with which we were working to continue functioning,” Sheinbaum added. Sheinbaum explained that the model in force for collaboration implies that information about suspicious vessels is provided by US authorities to the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), but intervention in waters under Mexican jurisdiction must be carried out exclusively by national forces. “It has to do with information that is provided to the Secretariat of the Navy so that (…) obviously in our continental zone and in the economic zone, it must be Mexican forces, and in the case of international waters that may be within the length of the national territory, what we were doing, which is the capture of these vessels.” She also mentioned that she met yesterday with the US ambassador, and these meetings are being sought so that in the case of the geographical location that has to do with Mexico, operations continue as they were previously. “So, we continue to insist on this, they have not given us more information,” she concluded. Recall that on Tuesday, the US Coast Guard attacked four vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific Ocean, in which 14 people were traveling, with one survivor who is in active search by the Mexican Navy.
