In an effort to strengthen security on the northern border of Mexico, a contingent of 500 elements of the National Guard (GN) Tuesday arrived in Tijuana, a border city with San Diego, United States, as part of the so -called “North border operation”.
The elements arrived aboard two planes of the Mexican Air Force (FAM), which landed in the Military Air Base number 12, located behind Tijuana International Airport.
In recent months, Tijuana has faced significant challenges related to migratory flowborder security and organized crime activity.
Drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, has been one of the main concerns on the northern border. This synthetic opioid, which has caused a public health crisis in the United States, It is produced and trafficked largely from Mexico.
The reinforcement of security at strategic points such as Tijuana seeks to stop the flow of this substance to the neighboring country.
The deployment is part of the recent agreement between the governments of Mexico and the United States, which seeks to combat drug trafficking, especially fentanyl, in addition to reinforcing immigration control.
This operation responds to the promise of the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, to mobilize up to 10 thousand GN agents to the northern border, which allowed a one -month pause in 25 % tariffs that the US president, Donald Trump Trump , had announced for Mexican exports as of February 4.
The agents arrived in two aircraft: an Hercules and a Spartan plane, the GN detailed in a statement after their arrival, the elements descended with their luggage and addressed military units that transferred them to the assigned areas to start their security work.
This contingent of 500 agents will be the only one that will be deployed in the state of Baja California.
The operation is not limited to Tijuana, since from Monday afternoon the transfers of troops to other border cities began, such as Sonoyta, in Sonora; Juárez Ciudad, in Chihuahua; and Matamoros, in Tamaulipas.
In total, a thousand agents will be mobilized towards these strategic points, with the aim of strengthening surveillance at the border between Mexico and the United States.
The mayor of Tijuana, Ismael Burgueño, reported through his social networks that the arrival of the agents of the GN is part of the efforts of the Coordination Table for the Construction of Peace and Security, led by the governor of Baja California , Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. Burgueño stressed that military reinforcement seeks to guarantee border security and maintain order in the city.
“After the agreements of President Sheinbaum Pardo with the United States, today agents of the National Guard arrived to strengthen surveillance and order at our border. We are working in coordination to guarantee the security of Tijuana, ”said the mayor, although he did not offer specific details about the actions that will be implemented within the framework of the operation.
