The Mexican Navy and the United States Coast Guard sealed a new stage in their bilateral cooperation this week, with a series of high-level meetings held between June 3 and 5 in Washington, D.C., which addressed everything from the fight against transnational organized crime to search and rescue at sea.
Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, Secretary of the Navy, led the meetings with Admirals James W. Kilby and Kevin E. Lunday, the top commanders of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. The institutional relationship they reaffirmed rests on four principles: respect for sovereignty, cooperation without subordination, shared responsibility, and mutual trust.
The sea now occupies the center of the security relationship between Mexico and the United States. Both nations coordinate ongoing efforts to protect strategic trade routes, preserve marine resources, and ensure the safety of millions of people linked to maritime activity in both countries.
During the meetings, U.S. authorities recognized the operational capability of the Mexican Navy by sea, air, and land. They highlighted, in particular, the effectiveness of the Mexican naval trinomial model: a ship, a helicopter, and an interceptor patrol that act in a coordinated manner.
The incorporation of unmanned systems substantially expanded surveillance, reconnaissance, and target tracking capabilities at sea. That technological advance was one of the arguments that supported U.S. recognition of the Mexican Navy.
Morales Ángeles also emphasized the need to strengthen the North American Maritime Security and Protection Initiative (NAMSI), a trilateral mechanism active since 2008. That forum brings together Canada, Mexico, and the United States to coordinate operations, exchange strategic information, and combat illicit activities in the maritime environment, without ceding sovereign control over each nation's jurisdictional waters.
Mexico and the United States agreed to reactivate the SAREX binational exercises and increase specialized training for naval personnel. The objective is to expand interoperability mechanisms to respond to maritime emergencies more quickly and effectively.
A central point of that agenda was the implementation of the SAROPS 4.5 system, developed in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard. The tool will optimize the use of operational resources and reduce search and location times for people, vessels, and aircraft in emergency situations.
Mexico reaffirmed its compliance with international agreements for the protection of marine species. The fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is concentrated in the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico, two areas where the Navy exercises its role as the National Maritime Authority.
That environmental stance is framed within a context of broader maritime operations. Since October 2024, Mexican forces have seized more than 60 tons of drugs at sea, according to data published by El Universal, with intelligence support from the U.S. Northern Command and the Joint Interagency Task Force South.
The bilateral agenda also covered port infrastructure protection, academic cooperation, cybersecurity, and multinational exercises. These areas have strengthened the capabilities of the Mexican Navy and consolidated strategic trust between the two countries.
The Navy stated that the most effective international cooperation is that which strengthens national capabilities and protects sovereignty. Under that premise, Mexico projects itself as an active partner in regional security, not as a subordinate actor to Washington's priorities.
The context of the meetings is not insignificant. President Claudia Sheinbaum asked her foreign minister to reinforce coordination with Washington after statements by President Donald Trump about possible ground operations against the cartels, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly recognized the "good coordination" on security between both governments.
The Navy announced it will maintain that course of joint work, as it remains the area where collaboration between Mexico and the United States produces its most tangible results for regional stability.
