The US warned that the largest number of Russian intelligence agents are in Mexico

The head of the U.S. Northern Command warned of the significant presence of Russian intelligence personnel in Mexico, noting his “concern” over the efforts of China and Russia to influence the Americas region.

Glen VanHerck, who serves as the leader of the U.S. Northern Command, appeared before the US Senate to ask for more budget and explained Russian strategies.

The US senior general, who also heads the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said that there are “very aggressive and active” actors in the North American and Caribbean area, and specifically mentioned Mexico and the Bahamas.

On Thursday, the head of the U.S. Northern Command, General Glen VanHerck, warned US senators that Russia has its largest group of intelligence agents in Mexico of all that it has deployed in the world.

It was during his most recent hearing with the Armed Forces Committee of the United States Senate that the main intelligence organization in Russia, Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie, or GRU by its acronym, seeks to influence within the United States; the Central Intelligence Department is the military intelligence service available to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

For this, he said, intelligence personnel from Russia would have settled in Mexico, allegedly making it the country with the largest number of GRU members on the border with the US, said Glen VanHerck.

“I would like to point out that most of the GRU members in the world are in Mexico at the moment. Those are Russian intelligence personnel. And they keep a close eye on their opportunities for influence in the United States.”

VanHerck accused Russia and China of spreading disinformation and of sowing “division and internal discord” with the intention of undermining the foundations of American democracy and democracies around the world.

Southern Command Chief Laura Richardson, who also testified Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed with VanHerck's assessment.

“I've been in charge for almost five months and what impressed me the most is the extent to which China and Russia are aggressively expanding their influence in our neighborhood,” he said.

Richardson, who is in charge of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, reiterated his recent claims that without U.S. leadership and some investment, “China's negative influence in this region could soon resemble the predatory influence that country now has in Africa.”

“Let's be clear: China does not invest, it extracts,” he stressed.

He added that his “greatest strategic concerns” are keeping the Panama Canal and the Strait of Magellan free and open, in the environment of which he said there were Chinese projects.

Recently, Mexican deputies, specifically from the bench of the National Regeneration Movement, reported on the installation of a Mexico-Russia friendship group that was finally finalized with the support of allies.

However,a href="https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2022/02/12/ken-salazar-presumio-relacion-comercial-con-el-sat-y-lideres-de-la-iniciativa-privada/" rel="noopener noreferrer" Ken Salazar, US ambassador to Mexico, assured that “it can never happen” that Mexico and Russia have a close relationship, because of the invasion perpetrated by the Russian army on Ukrainian territory.

This is due to the reception of the Mexican deputies to the Russian Ambassador to Mexico, Viktor Koronelli, on March 23 in the House to establish the Mexico-Russia friendship group.

In addition, he recalled the alliance that Mexico and the United States would have demonstrated during World War II against Adolf Hitler's regime in Germany, and made an urgent call to extend that union.

“When a family is attacked, the family joins. Here we talk about the friendship group. There can be no difference, we have to do what they did in World War II,” he concluded.

*With information from AFP

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