The Senate of the Republic of Mexico has authorized this Monday the entry of a group of 139 United States military personnel into the country. The operation, for training purposes, will take place at the Santa Gertrudis military base, Chihuahua, between September 20 and 30. The trip of the large group comes a few months after the political and diplomatic crisis triggered by the presence of CIA agents in that same State, and amid the cooperation relations between Mexico and the United States in security matters under the shadow of interference from the Donald Trump Administration.
The Mexican Senate has stated that the arrival of U.S. military personnel, a routine exercise in joint work between the armies, “will not only positively impact the strengthening of individual and collective preparation, but will also contribute to the improvement of bilateral military cooperation mechanisms between both countries.” The request from President Claudia Sheinbaum, with the character of an “urgent resolution” for the entry of the military personnel, has been unanimously approved in the assembly with 75 votes in favor.
The group from the United States is composed of military personnel from the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. They will arrive at the training base next Thursday and are authorized to stay in Santa Gertrudis — 520 kilometers south of the border — until the end of September. Their entry into the country will be with weapons on a United States Air Force aircraft.
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This is the fourth time this year that the Senate authorizes the entry of the Army of its northern neighbor, although the first time for a group exceeding one hundred personnel. The first request from the president was in February, when the assembly authorized the entry of 19 foreign military personnel with 105 votes in favor to participate in “a specialized training exercise, in collaboration with the Naval Special Operations Unit of the Secretariat of the Navy” in Campeche. That same month, the entry of 12 members of the seventh Special Operations Group of the United States Northern Special Operations Command was also approved for training tasks. The last was in April, to allow 12 U.S. military personnel to improve “the capabilities of special forces units” from July 15 to December 15, 2026.
