Biden inherits dangerous mess south of the border

Among the clutter Joe Biden will inherit on Jan. 20 is this: a law enforcement relationship with America’s southern neighbor in complete disarray. Earlier this month, Mexican lawmakers adopted a measure that dramatically limits that country’s partnership with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, a partnership that has been the driving force behind Mexico’s meager successes against organized crime.

Mexican officials say the DEA has about 50 agents stations in Mexico. The new law strips them of all levels of diplomatic immunity. It forces them, along with officials from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, to submit whatever intelligence they collect to federales. And it requires local and state police to submit a written report of any interaction they have with foreign officials, down to a text message.

Officials on both sides of the Rio Grande are calling this law ruinous. U.S. Attorney General William Barr said it will have the effect of making citizens of Mexico and the United States less safe.

Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former chief of international operations, told The Daily Beast, “The big winners in this entire process are the cartels.”

And the loser is Mexico. According to the National Statistics Institute, Mexico’s homicide rate is at 29 killings per 100,000 inhabitants, almost six times the homicide rate in the U.S. and among the worst in the world. Half of the states in

Mexico have been tagged as Level 4 for danger by the U.S. State Department, the same rating as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Clearly, this month’s action is not a serious effort by the Mexican government to protect its citizens or its sovereignty. Instead, it’s a retaliation for escalating tensions with American officials. In October, former Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested in the U.S. on drug-trafficking charges. The arrest caught Mexico off guard and triggered a diplomatic backlash that included threats to expel DEA agents from the country. In response, the U.S. released Cienfuegos back to Mexico where, we were assured, he would stand trial for any crimes he may have committed. We can only hope that will be the case.

All of this comes in the context of a less-than-ideal transfer of power in the U.S., a spectacularly controversial international border and a neighbor with a keen interest in American foreign policy.

Perhaps the DEA should have been savvy enough to play better politics with Cienfuegos’ case. Biden can smooth over that offense and allow Mexico to save face. But what he shouldn’t do, for the safety of Americans and Mexicans alike, is allow corruption to creep across the river. If the Mexican government wants to choose the wrong side in the battle between cops and cartels, Biden should make sure there are consequences that are felt in Mexico City.