Mexico, U.S. to work on reducing drug use, trafficking of U.S.-made weapons - statement

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. and California state flag with Tijuana in the background at the U.S.-Mexico border during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Mexico and the United States will join forces to invest in public health around drug use, reduce arms-trafficking and dismantle criminal networks as part of a new security accord, the countries said in a joint statement on Friday.

The neighbors will also work together to dismantle the trafficking of firearms sold in the United States and smuggled to Mexico, said the statement following high-level talks between officials from both nations, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Mexico.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Daina Beth Soloman)