Mexican president dismisses US govt report on illicit drugs as ‘opinion’

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has dismissed Washington’s new report on illicit drugs that names his country as the main supplier of heroin and methamphetamine to the US, calling it merely an “opinion.”

“It is an opinion, basically,” Lopez Obrador said at a news conference on Thursday. “It has good things, and other things that we don’t accept.” He did not elaborate on what exactly he does not agree with, but added that his country has “very good relations” with the US and dismissed any possibility of a “political confrontation.”

The remarks came after the White House released a new presidential determination on illicit drug production and trafficking. The document named 22 countries located primarily in South and Central America, as well as certain Asian nations, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

While in the document, Trump lauded Mexico for showing “signs of progress” in battling the illegal drug trade – for example, passing “asset forfeiture reforms” and showing an increase in “extraditions of dangerous drug traffickers” to the US – he still urged the country to do more.

“Mexico remains the source of nearly all heroin and methamphetamine seized in the United States, and a transit route for most of the cocaine available in our country,” the memorandum stated.

The country also remains the major trafficking hub for other drugs, including cocaine, and cartels operating on its soil are also involved in the production and smuggling of fentanyl – an extremely potent opioid responsible for many drug overdose deaths across the US, Trump stated.

“The United States remains ready to deepen its partnership with Mexico to address these shared challenges and welcomes the opportunity to develop joint drug control goals with Mexico and bilateral investigations built on transparent and open sharing of investigative information and evidence leading to successful prosecutions,” the US president said in the statement.

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