US and Mexico conduct security drills along their shared border

U.S. and Mexican forces conducted drills along the border between the two countries near the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, an area where the Juárez Cartel, designated by Washington as a “terrorist organization” last July and blacklisted alongside other cartels, is active. The drills involved U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) units on the American side, and elements of the Mexican military and National Guard on the Mexican side. Several police and military vehicles from both countries patrolled along the Rio Grande, which forms a natural border between the two nations and is closely monitored by the United States. The exercises also included the use of helicopters, from which personnel rappelled down. Speaking at a press conference in El Paso, Hamid Naksheesh, supervisor of special operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said, “If you engage in terrorist activities, are members of a terrorist organization, or provide material support to these terrorist organizations, you will face legal consequences and immigration-related repercussions.”