Two decades after Mexico declared war on its drug cartels, organized crime continues to challenge state authority, fuel record levels of violence, and strain one of the world's most consequential bilateral relationships. On Tuesday, July 14, at 9 am PT, the Pacific Council will host a webinar on the security crisis reshaping U.S.-Mexico relations. The discussion will examine how the Sheinbaum administration is navigating mounting pressure from Washington to dismantle cartel networks while defending Mexico's constitutional sovereignty against the prospect of unilateral U.S. intervention. The event will feature Lila Abed, Director of the Mexico Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

The security landscape has grown significantly more complex in recent months. The Trump administration's designation of six major Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations has fundamentally altered the legal and diplomatic terrain, expanding U.S. authority for extraterritorial operations and placing Mexican officials under greater scrutiny for alleged cartel links. The killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader "El Mencho" in February 2026, while a landmark achievement for bilateral intelligence cooperation, triggered a wave of retaliatory violence across Mexico and exposed the fragility of security gains. Meanwhile, revelations of covert CIA operations on Mexican soil have intensified an already volatile debate over the boundaries of joint counternarcotics efforts. The central question for both governments is whether the model of deep cooperation without intervention can survive a political environment in Washington that increasingly treats the drug war as a national security emergency.

Why It's Important:

• Washington's designation of the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, and four other groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations marks a decisive break from decades of treating drug trafficking primarily as a law enforcement matter. According to CFR, Mexico has seen more than 463,000 homicides since 2006, with cartels now functioning as quasi-governmental entities in parts of the country.
• CIA operatives have directly participated in lethal operations against cartel members inside Mexico, CNN reported, representing a significant escalation of U.S. intelligence activity on Mexican soil. 
• The White House's National Drug Control Strategy 2026 formalizes the most aggressive U.S. anti-narcotics posture in modern history, designating fentanyl and its precursors as weapons of mass destruction and announcing the end of what it terms the "era of passive containment."

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.

Guest Speaker

Lila Abed is the director of the Mexico Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. Prior to joining the Dialogue, she served as director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute. Abed was a White House correspondent for the international news channel NTN24. Before this role, she was a public policy advisor for Latin America at the international law firm Covington & Burling in Washington, DC.

She gained extensive experience in various public institutions, serving as general director for international cooperation at Mexico’s Office of the Attorney General and as chief of staff to the attorney general. She also held the role of international affairs advisor to the attorney general.

After running for a seat in Mexico City’s local congress, Abed became secretary of international affairs for the executive committee of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and served as senior advisor to the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies. She has also worked in diplomatic posts at the Mexican embassies in Canada and the United Kingdom.

An avid international analyst, Abed shares her expertise across a range of media networks in both the United States and Mexico. She has been featured on NPR, CBS, PBS, CNN, Telemundo, Univision, Al Jazeera, BBC, Radio Fórmula, ADN40, El Heraldo de México, and Opinión51.

She holds a master’s degree in Latin American studies and government from Georgetown University. She graduated magna cum laude from Boston College with a major in international studies and Hispanic studies, and a minor in Chinese.

 

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.