Ken Salazar proposes US-Mexico security alliance modeled on USMCA

Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has proposed the creation of a regional security alliance based on a durable legal framework, similar to the USMCA trade agreement. Speaking during the presentation of his book “Borderlands,” Salazar emphasized that transnational issues such as fentanyl trafficking and the flow of American-made firearms into Mexico cannot be solved by either nation in isolation.

Salazar noted that weapons originating in the United States are responsible for thousands of deaths in Mexican territory, while the fentanyl crisis causes over 100,000 deaths annually in the U.S. He described the situation as a shared security crisis characterized by a bidirectional flow: weapons moving south and narcotics moving north.

The proposal includes modernizing borders through the exchange of technology, intelligence, and information, alongside increased joint investment in border crossings such as Otay Mesa, Matamoros, Brownsville, and Nuevo Laredo. Salazar also acknowledged the security efforts being made by the Mexican government under President Claudia Sheinbaum and Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch.