Mexico to seek cooperation on arms flows with U.S. attorney general

Reuters
Updated
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador celebrates the anniversary of his first year in office

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday his government will seek to strengthen cooperation with the United States to control the flow of "arms and dollars" during meetings this week with U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

"Two issues that must be discussed are the introduction of arms and dollars, and of course drugs," Lopez Obrador said during his regular morning news conference. "There must be cooperation on those issues."

Barr is due to visit Mexico to discuss cooperation on security. U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to label drug gangs as terrorist groups has stirred concern in Mexico that Washington could try to take unilateral action to crush the cartels.

Lopez Obrador added that Mexico would not permit another operation like the U.S. government's "Fast and Furious" gun-running sting. The bungled investigation of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) embarrassed the Obama administration and strained relations with Mexico.

"It was a flagrant violation of our sovereignty," Lopez Obrador said.

(Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; writing by Julia Love; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)