Mexico: OPDAT Continues Close Collaboration with Mexican Partners to Counter Fentanyl Trafficking

On May 14 and 15, in Mexico City, Mexico, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Assistance (INL) and the Mexican Attorney General’s office (FGR), through the Specialized Office for International Affairs (FEAIN), directed by Licenciado Miguel Angel Méndez Buenos Aires,held the third in a series of workshops with prosecutors from FGR. The workshop continued the close collaboration under the Bicentennial Framework between the United States and Mexico to combat the transnational criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl to the United States. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and IRS Criminal Investigation, along with Mexican judges and prosecutors, discussed bilateral cooperation and investigative techniques to build successful cases against drug trafficking organizations. The workshop provided an understanding of global trafficking and money laundering trends, fentanyl criminal markets around the world, and the role of the dark web and cryptocurrency in distributing and trafficking fentanyl. OPDAT Senior Resident Legal Advisor in Mexico Jamie Mickelson, OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor in Mexico Arturo Aguilar, Justice Department Counselor for Narcotics and Transnational Organized Crime Arthur Wyatt, and Dr. German Adolfo Castillo Banuet, chief prosecutor for the specialized unit for regional control of FGR, delivered remarks emphasizing the importance of bilateral coordination and collaboration to combat fentanyl trafficking in an effort to ensure safe and prosperous communities in both countries.