A Mexican delegation will meet in Washington on Thursday to finalize a security deal, as White House officials debate a strategy for fighting cartels and stemming the flow of drugs across the border.
Inside the White House, Trump officials are embroiled in a debate over whether to carry out military strikes against Mexican drug cartels or instead to collaborate with Mexican authorities to jointly dismantle criminal organizations.
On one side, several people familiar with the matter say, some U.S. officials are advocating for unilateral military action against cartel figures and infrastructure to stem the flow of drugs across the border. On the other side, those people say, some officials are arguing for increased partnership with the Mexican government to ensure, among other things, continued cooperation on the issue of migration.
Amid this split, a high-level delegation from Mexico is set to arrive in Washington on Thursday to meet with senior U.S. officials to hammer out a security agreement, a draft of which was crafted last week and will likely anchor the talks.
In discussions so far, American officials have delivered vague ultimatums and unclear policy demands that Mexico dismantle the cartels or face the full force of Washington’s power, according to three people familiar with the preliminary negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly, leading to confusion among Mexican officials.
Much of the confusion stems from the division inside the Trump administration on dealing with the drug cartels, several of which were recently designated by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations.