Letter to The Honorable Alfonso Durazo, Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection - Congressman Gonzalez Sends Letters to Mexico Ambassador and Security Secretary Urging Proper Implementation of Safe Highway Program

Letter

Dear Mr. Secretary Durazo,

It was nice meeting with you in Mexico City in late March to discuss the importance of securing our trade routes between Mexico and the United States. I appreciate your candor and willingness to work with me to ensure the safe transport of passengers and cargo between both countries through the Safe Highways program, which you recently launched as part of an overall effort to bring more security and prosperity to Mexico.

As you know, the newly renegotiated NAFTA or United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and Mexico's recently launched Safe Highway program represent two important steps forward in our bilateral relationship.

For the United States and Mexico to continue reaping the benefits of North American trade, each country must fulfill its commitments to efficiency, security, and rule of law. Proper implementation of the Safe Highway program will undoubtably allow for the successful implementation of the USMCA and encourage more cross-border commerce. By helping to secure merchandise that passes through its territory on a daily basis, Mexico will incentivize companies to further invest and export more merchandise without fear of extortion or theft.

I sincerely thank you for including Highway 40D, which connects Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in this critical highway safety pilot program. Because this highway links one of Mexico's major business hubs with the Rio Grande Valley, it is absolutely essential that this program is implemented with great care and without delay. Given the importance of this road for both cargo and passenger traffic, I also ask that your government make it a priority to secure Highway 40D all the way to each international bridge connecting Tamaulipas with South Texas.

These include: the Pharr International Bridge, Anzalduas International Bridge, Veterans International Bridge, Starr-Camargo International Bridge, Donna Rio-Bravo International Bridge, Gateway International Bridge, and the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. Unless this protection extends all the way to the bridge itself, freight and passenger vehicles will remain at risk. The guarantee of safe passage and the eradication of disruptive, costly, and harmful criminal activity will benefit both of our economies. In my view, the success of this trade deal is contingent upon the success of this program.

I understand the importance of ratifying the USMCA, however, I am reluctant to support the agreement without a timeline for implementation of the Safe Highway program and an assurance that the roads connecting Highway 40D with our international bridges will be covered by this program. I look forward to working with you and your colleagues in the government of Mexico to bring security and prosperity to South Texas and Northern Mexico.

Should you have any questions, or wish to meet to discuss this in more detail, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Vicente Gonzalez
Member of Congress

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