To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to provide assistance to the Mexican government following reports of cartel violence following the arrest of Ovidio Guzman Lopez.

The increasing level of violence in Mexico is a worrying trend, including the events of last week in the state of Sinaloa following the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán López. The British Embassy in Mexico City and senior British officials in London regularly engage on this with the Mexican authorities, including monitoring violence trends in Mexico and offering assistance in the field of Rule of Law.

Colleagues from the International Policing Assistance Services (IPAS) visited Mexico in March 2020 to advise the Secretary General of the National Public Security System in Mexico (SESNSP) on how to review Mexican policing techniques and to progress police reform. Following their report, UK experts plan to undertake further visits to Mexico to assist the SESNSP with the next stage of their police reform process.