Event Summary U.S. – Mexico Defense & Security Roundtable
Opening Remarks – Consul Rafael Barceló Durazo 3 rd Annual U.S. – Mexico Defense & Security Roundtable Source: Zoom Streaming (Screenshot)
On November 21st, 2024, military leaders, practitioners, and foreign policy professionals gathered for the 3rdAnnual U.S. – Mexico Defense & Security Roundtable. The event was co-sponsored by the University of Arizona, the Tucson Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Binational Research Consortium with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) on Migration, Human Rights, and Human Security. The well attended roundtable included both in person and hybrid (online Zoom) audience components. The event lasted for one and one-half hours after which a reception at the university took place. The participants and their main take aways related to this important event are as follows:
Keynote Address – General Gregory M. Guillot
General Guillot is the Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command. North American Aerospace Defense Command, commonly known as NORAD, is a bi-national command charged with aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning in defense of the United States and Canada. United States Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, deters, detects, and defeats threats to the United States and provides defense support to civil authorities.
“U.S. Northern Command’s security cooperation mission is driven by our partnerships with Canada, Mexico, and The Bahamas. Through military engagements, security assistance programs, combined exercises, and information sharing – USNORTHCOM fosters relationships that promote American national interests while building the capability of our partnered nations.”
“Mexico is a cherished NORTHCOM partner and an indispensable component in ensuring the security of the entirety of North America.”
“The strong military partnerships between the United States and Mexico are continuing to strengthen and grow. USNORTHCOM’s relationships with Defensa and Marina – the Mexican Armed Forces – are evolving from ones of cooperation to those of integration.”
“Integrated teams share the same goals, the same vision, the same values, and the same mission. Integrated partners are in it for the right reasons together. This integration is at the heart of North American defense.”
Opening Remarks – Consul Rafael Barceló Durazo
Consul Barceló Durazo is the Consul of Mexico in Tucson. He has been a career diplomat since 2010 and served in Brazil and Costa Rica. He also served as the Deputy Director General for International Policy on Human Rights. He holds a master’s degree in Administration and Public Policy from the Center for Research and Instruction in Economics.
“We know that we have two fantastically dynamic and complex societies that are synergetic, that we are symbiotic to the development of one another. I think our shared prosperity in Mexico and the United States relies a lot on collaboration and that presents us with so many opportunities, so many things to do, so many things to improve, because our shared prosperity also means shared responsibilities on both sides of the border.”
Panel Discussion
Dr. Raúl Benitez Manaut
Dr. Benitez Manaut is a professor and researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and President of the Collective for the Analysis of Security with Democracy (CASEDE).
“The U.S. government will pressure the Mexicans to stop migrants in Chiapas not in the [U.S. – Mexico] border. The U.S. government needs to do the same with Guatemala because all the people that enter Mexico go through Guatemala by land. For example, many migrants from Africa or India or China or the Middle East came from Nicaragua because they don’t need a visa.”
“I have a mixed idea, optimistic in some sense and pessimistic in the other sense. Military-to-military cooperation is possible.”
“In the first years of Donald Trump he was pragmatic. If we follow the Donald Trump ideas from the campaign, I am pessimistic. But, if we look at how Donald Trump made decisions regarding Mexico six years ago, seven years ago, it was absolutely pragmatic and the dialogue was a real thing. And they negotiate everything on the table and this is one possibility. One thing is the campaign and another thing is the way that he actually makes decisions regarding Mexico. With dialogue in Mexico, both sides are pragmatic in real terms.”
“Both governments and the armed forces must work together to find an effective strategy to combat drug trafficking and criminal organizations.”
Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera
Dr. Correa-Cabrera is a professor at George Mason University and author of Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporations, Energy, and Civil War in Mexico. She is also a SWJ−El Centro Fellow. Previously, she was the President of the Association for Borderlands Studies.
“The border is more than a place of conflict.”
“United States, I would say dysfunctional or for some people broken, immigration system has to do with the fact that the migrant smuggling networks operate and they are starting to operate with other groups. You generate all these pieces of illegality.”
“We were talking about the generation of complex adaptive systems because of the strategy being utilized to fight these illicit networks or these illicit groups. Groups became networks.”
“[The Sheinbaum security strategy is] not very new in my view because all the focus on intelligence and money laundering and all that has been tried in previous administrations… I’m very skeptical to believe that this is going to be different.”
“I am not optimistic, and I am less optimistic when I think about declaring a war against cartels and intervening directly in Mexican territory if needed to fight the cartels.
