Mexico's Congress Passes Law to Limit US Agents and Lift Their Immunity

By Neil P. First Posted: Dec 17, 2020 08:13 AM EST

Mexico's Congress has approved a bill that takes away the immunity and other benefits of American agents working in Mexico.

(Photo : Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen And Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Hold News Conference At Justice Department.

The United States and Mexico have been working together to reduce and stop illegal activities initiated by Mexican drug cartels.

However, this mutual understanding is at the brink after the lower house of Congress approved a measure taking away the immunity of U.S. agents working in Mexico.

Mexico's Congress Approved the Bill

The trade of illegal drugs has been one of the major problems that the United States and Mexico have been facing for years. This illegal activity is mainly initiated by different Mexican cartels who continue to operate even amid the global pandemic.

In a recently published article in KSN, it said the approved bill would definitely affect the campaign against illegal drugs in two countries.

The bill, which may be signed into law days from now, is seen as a huge blow to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and others who work against drug cartels and organized groups in Mexico.

It can be remembered that Mexico's Senate approved a similar version of the bill last week. Both the Senate and Congress are now waiting for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to sign the bill, which may happen soon.

The arrest of a former Mexican defense secretary in the U.S. last October on charges of being a drug cartel boss has raised tensions between the neighbors and elicited threats from the government of Mexico to halt cooperation.

The U.S. Criticized the Bill

Last week, United States Attorney General William Barr criticized the bill that was approved by the Senate. Barr said the bill being proposed by Lopez Obrador would make "US-Mexico cooperation more difficult."

Barr added that this will only benefit the drug cartels if ever this measure will be implemented. But it will likely be signed into law because Lopez Obrador asserted support for the measure that will force DEA agents and other American intelligence officers to turn over all information they gather to Mexican officials.

Typically, the chief DEA in any country has full diplomatic immunity, while other agents have limited or technical immunity. But with the approval of Mexico's Senate and Congress that takes away these benefits, the U.S. agents working in Mexico could lose their immunity once the President signs the bill.

DEA's former chief of international operations Mike Vigil said the information gathered is "going to be leaked, it's going to compromise agents, it's going to compromise informants."

He noted that "it's just going to make a burdensome system." He added that it is also going to hinder bilateral operations and bilateral exchange of information, and "this is going to be much more detrimental to Mexico than to the United States."

The move was seen as a big test for President-elect Joe Biden's administration and his relationship with Mexico.