By Drazen Jorgic

MEXICO CITY (Reuters] – After Mexican officials canceled its parking spot for it, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) decided not to station a plane there for anti-narcotics operation.

This is an important step forward in the fight against drugs crime, which was weakened under Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador.

Since the 1990s, the DEA has maintained its own air force at Toluca in Mexico City. This aircraft is used to carry out missions against cartels and ferry U.S. agents to the Latin American country to monitor time sensitive raids.

Current plane was a twin-turboprop King Air capable of carrying about 10 persons. The aircraft was also used in DEA operations in Central America.

The plane was moved from the United States to Texas, according to two security sources and a U.S government official. The three men requested anonymity since they were not allowed to talk about this issue.

“It will put an end to everything. “We can’t drive in Mexico because it is too dangerous,” stated one security source who was familiar with DEA operations.

The DEA refused to comment. Mexican Attorney General’s Office FGR and Mexican President’s Office did not reply to inquiries for comment.

It is possible that the U.S. will lose its efforts to fight organized crime in Mexico by removing this aircraft. This could also delay extraditions for high-ranking capos.

Another example of how the relationship between Mexico’s government (DEA) and Mexico has fractured since Lopez Obrador took office in 2018, when he pledged to adopt a more friendly approach in fighting organized crime.

Reuters reported that Mexico disbanded last April a selected anti-narcotics group that had for a quarter century collaborated with the DEA in order to fight the cartels.

Although there has been a sharp decline in anti-narcotics cooperation since Lopez Obrador’s arrest in 2020, U.S. officials claim it has improved. This was after a near total rupture when U.S. agents arrested Salvador Cienfuegos, Mexico’s former chief of the army for taking bribes to a drug cartel.

After a protest from Mexico, the U.S. judge granted Cienfuegos’ release. The request was made by prosecutors citing sensitive foreign policy considerations.

Lopez Obrador frequently criticizes the DEA’s methods, which he claims run roughshod over Mexico’s sovereignty.

According to a security source with DEA operations, problems with the aircraft began shortly after Lopez Obrador was elected.

After the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense(SEDENA), the controlling body of the airspace, was given a larger role under Lopez Obrador and began to ask for a written request to the U.S. government at least two weeks in advance of any flight, its usage slowed.

The need to be flexible and fast made some missions impossible, according to security sources. But the DEA did not appeal to Mexico’s foreign ministry and aircraft use remained stagnant.

According to a U.S. official, the DEA then moved the aircraft about a month after Mexico’s FGR requested that the agency give up its space at the FGR hangar at Toluca airport.

Current and former U.S. officials claimed that the plane’s loss would hinder DEA’s efforts. They recalled the pivotal role the aircraft played in transporting elite Navy Special Forces and top Mexican cops to major raids and the equipment they used.

Leonardo Silva, a former DEA agent and DEA officer who was stationed in Mexico, said “The plane proved invaluable for our missions.” It’s vital for the DEA to function in Mexico and remain effective.

With two DEA pilots available at all times, this plane is also crucial in rescuing U.S. Agents facing death threats. This includes in 2011, when a U.S. citizen was killed by Zetas cartel members in central Mexico. His wounded colleague Victor Avila was hunted by Homeland Security Investigations agents and had to be flown away.

The extradition of traffickers is also possible to be endangered because the DEA has a limited time frame to arrest cartel leaders abroad, before the lawyers complicate the whole process with a series of judicial steps. This was stated by a former senior DEA agent working in Mexico.

Mexico has a murder rate of over 30,000 per annum due to drug cartels fighting for control over its trafficking routes. Overdoses of the newly produced, highly potent Mexican drugs by Mexican cartels led to over 100,000 deaths in America last year.