President López Obrador and United States President Donald Trump have agreed to take action against arms trafficking, according to Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.

“The president said that by using technology in both countries we can close the border to arms trafficking that is causing deaths in Mexico,” he said. “Trump’s response was that he thought it was a very good idea . . .”

Such technology would include the installation of advanced lasers, X-rays and metal detectors at border crossings.

Ebrard said the measure could not only impede the flow of weapons into Mexico but of drugs into the U.S.

A high-level binational working group that includes Mexico’s security cabinet, its counterpart in the United States, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau and representatives from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will coordinate the effort against arms trafficking.

Ebrard said the group will meet for the first time next week.

López Obrador told Trump he was concerned that the Sinaloa Cartel used .50-caliber, armor-piercing weapons against security forces last week in violent clashes in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

The two spoke by telephone on Saturday.

Mexico estimates that 80% of weapons used by criminals in Mexico come from the U.S.

Source: El Universal (sp)