Treasury officials announced on Monday that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit to Mexico City this week to seek cooperation with Mexican counterparts on countering illicit finance and fentanyl trafficking, as well as strengthening Mexico’s position in US supply chains.
The Treasury said in a statement that Yellen’s trip will include meetings with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as well as the country’s central bank governor and finance minister.
The trip follows Treasury’s announcement on Monday of a counter-fentanyl “strike force” that will bring together the department’s resources, including the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit, to disrupt illicit drug trafficking.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month agreed to deepen cooperation to stem the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals, which are often mixed by Mexican drug gangs before distribution in the U.S.