U.S. Will Share Intelligence With Mexico

WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will share intelligence and conduct joint operations with the notoriously corrupt Mexican Federal Judicial Police, under a new plan to "secure the U.S.-Mexico border."

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Public Safety Genaro García Luna signed a Declaration of Principles of Cooperation on joint efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Napolitano said in a statement.

Napolitano said the U.S. and Mexican agencies will cooperate to crack down on drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The declaration of principles calls for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share intelligence and conduct joint operations with the Mexican Federal Police.

Mexico's Federal Judicial Police, or FJP, are a notorious, black-clad outfit that has repeatedly been infiltrated by drug smugglers, car thieves and assassins. They have fought numerous shootouts with state police, and others, to protect, or capture, drug shipments. Hundreds or thousands of FJP officers have been dismissed for corruption over decades.

The Mexican Federal Police promised Napolitano it would provide greater resources to combat criminal activity along the Mexican side of the border. U.S. border agencies agreed to coordinate deployment of personnel, technology and infrastructure with the FJP to enhance its intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Napolitano also signed a protocol for emergency communications between U.S. and Mexican authorities in the case of a natural disaster or national security threat to either nation.

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