Working with Mexico, not against it, would bolster security

At a time of escalating tension in U.S.-Mexico relations, there is much more at stake than simply the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Ensuring a friendly and cooperative neighbor on our southern border has consequences for American national and homeland security.

Since 9/11, concerns about homeland security have been preeminent in U.S. policy circles. The past year has been no exception, with fears over the terrorist threat vehemently voiced during the presidential campaign. There is no doubt that these fears are grounded in compelling evidence of an ongoing threat to the United States homeland, although political opinion differs about the nature and source of that threat.

{mosads}Throughout the 15-year period since 9/11, cooperation with the intelligence and security services of its allies has been fundamental to preventing attacks on U.S. territory. Britain and Canada have long been the United States’ essential partners in security matters.

In recent years, Canada’s role has become much more prominent, with heightened collaboration on a range of security fronts. In 2012, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper signed the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan that, in addition to harmonized standards for goods and fewer obstacles for travelers, is aimed at preventing cross-border crime and terrorism through a considerable increase in intelligence and information sharing.

Fruitful as the United States’ cooperation with Canada has been in matters of security, it is high time that attention is given to the vital role that is being played by the United States’ other North American ally, Mexico. For the past decade, Mexico and the United States have been developing a security relationship that is historically unprecedented, working together to fight drug trafficking and public insecurity.

Although the focus until now has been on how the United States can assist Mexico in its struggle against organized crime, the beginning of a new U.S. administration provides the ideal moment to ask how Mexico can help its U.S. ally in its struggle against terrorist threats.

What Mexico already offers is security collaboration and a level of trust between agencies that has advanced exponentially over the past decade. From its origins in the Mérida Initiative, increased interaction and mutual understanding have flourished.

As Eric Olson argues in a forthcoming Wilson Center publication, “the security relationship has transcended the Mérida Initiative and encompasses a range of emerging issues that are dealt with in the context of dialogue. Bilateral security issues are no longer constrained by a predefined programmatic agenda. As a result, the security relationship has evolved, matured, and is probably at its highest point in history.” 

The need for this cooperation is most apparent, of course, in border security. Although the new Trump administration will certainly bolster U.S. border protections, there is still much that Mexico can do to help secure the U.S. border.

First, Mexico needs to strengthen its own border controls, to filter out drug money, weapons, and criminals wanting to cross its northern border, both to and from the U.S. The time has come for Mexico to build its own border patrol and to equip it with the resources and support it needs to fulfill its duties.

Creating a Mexican border patrol would allow for exchanges with its American counterpart, something that has been highly productive on the Canada-U.S. border through the Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBET) experience, which have helped dismantle smuggling and human trafficking rings.

Having a collaborative partner on the other side of the border will greatly enhance U.S. efforts to protect the homeland, in much the same way that Canada plays that role to the north. But the opportunities for border collaboration extend much further south than the Rio Grande.

Today, the Mexican frontier with Guatemala has become North America’s true southern border. The impressive, albeit controversial, efforts that Mexico has undertaken on its southern border through the Plan Frontera Sur, which has seen close cooperation with U.S. agencies, provides an important starting point for further joint initiatives.

However, security collaboration is not just about borders; just as importantly, it involves the intelligence services and the military. It is worth emphasizing that this was unthinkable a decade ago, when traditional prejudices and fears prevented meaningful collaboration in these areas between the two countries.

Today, the sharing of intelligence between the two nations is not only crucial but can serve to deepen the relationship further. It has often been noted that the close cooperation and understanding between intelligence services constitutes the basis of the United States’ special relationship with the United Kingdom.

Mexico’s intelligence community, although far more limited in its resources and international reach, has already proven its value to the United States, cooperating with U.S. agencies to prevent at least two incidents where foreign actors were planning an attack.

It is worth considering a Mexico-U.S. Perimeter Security deal similar to that signed with Canada, that allows for regular information exchanges on persons of interest. Beyond national territory, cooperating with Mexican intelligence on the border with Guatemala and Belize would be a positive contribution to U.S. human intelligence capacities. 

In recent years, the Mexican military has been highly modernized and improved in terms of equipment, education, and cyber capabilities. More importantly, it has begun to interact with the U.S. armed forces to an astonishing degree.

The Mexican Navy (SEMAR) has had a foreign liaison officer at U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) since 2007, and the Mexican army (SEDENA) has visited multiple NORTHCOM facilities and has developed a friendly relationship with the U.S. Army.

Despite all that Mexico can offer the United States, there are still areas in which it urgently requires assistance. Cybersecurity is the most obvious and pressing of these. As a recent New York Times article highlights, the country is still highly vulnerable to cyber attacks that result in an array of problems ranging from personal harassment to rigged elections.

The country is still not prepared to deal with such a threat. Were cyber terrorists to target energy or border infrastructure, the impact on the United States would be considerable. In order to bring itself up to speed, Mexico will need help from its northern neighbor. The U.S. train Mexican government and military personnel on best practices for improving cyber protections.

Now is the time for both countries to invest heavily in the security relationship. Mexico has much that it can offer; it can — and must — be seen as an ally, a crucial partner that deserves respect, and as an asset to security within the region, rather than as a potential liability to be contained.

The United States faces a critical choice at this juncture — it can consolidate a relationship from which it has much to gain, working toward the resolution of existing and future security concerns, or it can alienate a country that has become a firm friend and crucial ally. Let’s pray that the administration opts for the former.

Duncan Wood is the director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. 

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.