Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum “warned” the state government in Queretaro for launching a U.S. Police Academy in the state without the authorization of the federal government.
“It’s a warning to the government of Queretaro,” Sheinbaum said during her press conference on October 6.
Queretaro’s State Interdiction Academy, a U.S. security institution devised to train Queretaro’s law enforcement authorities to detect and interdict drugs, weapons, illicit money, and other contraband, began construction last Sunday during a press conference led by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson and state Governor Mauricio Kuri from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), Sheinbaum’s leading opposition.
This is the second time a governor from the ruling Morena Party opposition bloc has celebrated a security agreement with the U.S. without the federal government’s knowledge, a violation of Mexican law.
The State Interdiction Academy is part of a long-running collaboration between U.S. security agencies and Queretaro’s government to tackle drug trafficking and organized crime, a relationship valued at USD $10 million in U.S. investment in the state’s security infrastructure over the past decade that has seen 4,732 participants trained, including 1,714 from the Queretaro State Attorney General’s Office.
According to President Sheinbaum, there are nine cooperation projects between the government of the state of Queretaro and U.S. law enforcement agencies.
However, the newly launched Police Academy falls outside of these projects as it holds no authorization from Sheinbaum’s administration, a violation of the standard protocols for agreements with foreign governments and Mexico’s Constitution.
“What is the only thing that is being asked of the government of Queretaro? To follow the procedures, to ask the Foreign Ministry, to request its authorization. If it is going to receive support from the United States government, to request authorization from the High-Level Group. Why? Because it is the law,” Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference this Tuesday.
Through a press release issued following the inauguration of the academy, Ambassador Johnson praised Queretaro’s state government for its cooperation with the United States:
“Queretaro is an example of what we can accomplish when we work together,” wrote Johnson.
Sheinbaum underscored that the Police Academy infringes on Mexico’s Constitution and its National Security Law, which states that only the federal government is authorized to enter into such types of security agreements.
This would entail a violation of Mexican law and the second time the US government bypasses Sheinbaum’s administration and holds a security agreement with her opposition, given that in April of this year it was discovered that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was carrying out security operations in Chihuahua at the invitation of the government of Maru Campos, also from the PAN party without Sheinbaum’s knowledge.
Featured image: Screenshot of video posted by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson on social media for inauguration of the new New State Interdiction Academy in Queretaro on October 3.
Image credit: U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson via X.
