Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Fentanyl overdoses are no longer a growing phenomenon just north of the Rio Grande. For the past two years, Juarez, Mexico has also seen an increase in the trafficking of dangerous synthetic drugs on their streets – and the deaths that follow.
That’s why the U.S. Border Patrol this week shared its expertise on responding to health emergencies such as drug overdoses, stopping bleeds and providing CPR with more than 25 members of the Juarez municipal police department.
Agents assigned to the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) unit also gave the Mexican officers demonstrations on how to apply tourniquets and compression to those bleeding from wounds caused by sharp objects or bullets, the Juarez police said. The Juarez officers also learned to administer Narcan.
On the law enforcement front, special operations agents shared defensive tactics when dealing with ambushes, deploying or responding to tear gas or smoke.
The training “reflects the Municipal Public Safety Secretariat’s commitment to professionalize our police officers and better serve our citizens,” the Mexican law enforcement agency said in a statement.
The training began on Tuesday and concluded on Friday at the Juarez police academy in Juarez, Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the training across the border is part of the U.S. Border Patrol 2024-2026 Strategic Goals initiative.
“One of our goals is strengthening and fostering our partnerships, focusing on communication, collaboration and shared awareness to fulfill our mission of securing the border,” CBP said in a statement in response to a Border Report inquiry. “Training together with our neighbor partners in Mexico will ensure a quicker deployment and same-training approach when responding to an emergency and to those in need. Sharing a border together is securing a border together.”
The official presence of U.S. law enforcement or military personnel must be approved by the Mexican federal government.
According to an April 23 statement from the Mexican Senate, further training exercises are scheduled to take place in Juarez between June 23 and June 29. That is part of the Fuerzas Amigas 2024 program green-lighted by the Mexican Senate last year.
