Particle.news
Download on the App Store

France Launches Foreign-Policy Offensive on Cocaine Trafficking With Mexico Customs Pact and Colombia Extradition Bill

Paris pairs new cooperation in Latin America with a bid for EU sanctions to choke cartel finances.

Overview

  • Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot unveiled a Quai d’Orsay–led plan that elevates narcotrafficking to a core diplomatic and security priority.
  • France will increase specialized embassy staff by 20% and triple their intervention resources, with no detailed calendar provided.
  • A regional academy in the Dominican Republic is slated for 2026 to train about 250 investigators, magistrates, customs officers and financial analysts annually.
  • France signed a customs cooperation framework with Mexico during the presidential state visit, and a bill to approve a Colombia extradition convention has been submitted to Parliament.
  • The plan seeks an EU sanctions regime to freeze traffickers’ assets and block transactions, doubles related development aid to €400 million, and prepares future action on transit routes in the Gulf of Guinea, North Africa and the Balkans.