EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The Mexican border state of Sonora has deployed an elite new unit to counter organized criminal activities in cities across the border from Arizona.

The División de Operaciones Fronterizas (Border Operations Division) will operate from bases in Agua Prieta and Sonoyta, which are south of the U.S. border at Douglas and Lukeville, Arizona, respectively. The unit also will operate in Nogales and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora Gov. Alfonso Durazo said.

“The collaboration between the governments of Mexico, the United States and the state of Sonora continues to bear results that strengthen our bilateral relations,” Durazo said this week in announcing the new unit. “The formation of this new border unit is a firm step toward a border that is more modern and secure and where there is more cooperation to benefits communities on both sides.”

The unit will focus on human trafficking, drug smuggling and other organized criminal activities, he said. At least 18 of its officers received training from U.S. Customs and Border Protection advisers, Durazo’s office said.

The presence of the Sinaloa cartel in northern Sonora has attracted the attention of the Department of Homeland Security. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the launch of Operation Plaza Spike targeting fentanyl smugglers in Nogales (Sonora) such as Sergio Valenzuela, aka “Don Gio.”

In Cochise County, Arizoma, sheriff’s deputies have spent considerable time in the past few years chasing drivers transporting migrants smuggled from Mexico by the cartels into local communities. Lukeville two years ago was the epicenter of unprecedented migration from African countries funneled by smugglers from Sonoyta.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson weighed in on the issue.

“The new Border Unit in Sonora is a concrete step to stop the flow of illicit drugs, weapons and people while boosting trade and community ties,” Johnson said on X. “A secure border benefits both countries, creating an environment where citizens can prosper. Border security is a shared priority …”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said the unit would be in contact with their counterparts in the United States, as is the case with local authorities in other parts of U.S.-Mexico border.

“(Sonora) is a border state. As such, if there is a criminal that crosses the border, there has to be information,” Sheinbaum said at one of her daily news conferences this week. “There is communication in border states – from our regional Defense commander to the Northern Command (of the United States) – more so now that the U.S. Army is present on the border. There has to be communication.”

Sheinbaum emphasized public safety coordination is mutually beneficial and doesn’t signal that Mexico is being subordinate to the U.S. as President Donald Trump pushes for more interdiction of migrants and fentanyl heading to the border.

“We have communication with Guatemala,” for instance, she said. “We strengthened that with a visit we made due to the (unauthorized) entry of Mexican police to Guatemala. We have an accord and we have more cooperation.”

She was referring to a June incident in which Chiapas state police riding armored vehicles pursued a group of criminals across the Mexico-Guatemala border after a shootout that left four gunmen dead.