Mexico City: Sara Carter, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe during an official trip to Mexico focused on combating drug trafficking.
During her visit on Feb. 26, Carter prayed before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and said she hopes faith will help defeat drug cartels and the spread of narcotics affecting communities in both countries.
“With God’s blessings and his providence, we will overcome the plague of the cartels and the poisons they inflict on us and our children,” Carter said.
Visit to Mexico’s most famous shrine
The shrine houses the tilma of Juan Diego, which bears the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and is one of the most revered Catholic relics in the Americas.
Carter was accompanied at the basilica by Martín Muñoz López, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Mexico City and a canon of the basilica.
Photographs released by U.S. officials showed Carter praying inside the Marian shrine and standing before the image of the Virgin.
She emphasized that faith plays an important role in addressing drug addiction and recovery.
“Faith remains a cornerstone in the fight against drug addiction — guiding prevention, healing, and recovery for communities everywhere,” she said.
Cartel leader captured in major operation
Carter’s visit came shortly after a major anti-cartel operation in the Mexican state of Jalisco on Feb. 22 that resulted in the capture and subsequent death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
According to Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s secretary of security and citizen protection, intelligence provided by U.S. authorities helped make the operation possible.
U.S.–Mexico security cooperation
A day earlier, Carter met with Mexico’s security cabinet along with Ronald Johnson to discuss bilateral cooperation against drug trafficking.
The meeting included several senior Mexican officials such as Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla, Navy Secretary Raymundo Morales, Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez, and Attorney General Ernestina Godoy.
Following the meeting, Johnson said both governments are working together to combat fentanyl trafficking and dismantle criminal networks responsible for drug distribution.
“Together we are working to stop the scourge of fentanyl and dismantle the networks that are poisoning our communities,” he said.
Officials also reported that Carter held additional talks with Mexico’s Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and Undersecretary Roberto Velasco Álvarez as part of ongoing bilateral efforts to combat drug trafficking.
The visit highlighted the combination of law enforcement cooperation and faith-based messages as both countries continue efforts to tackle drug cartels and addiction.