{"id":198799,"date":"2026-02-01T14:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=198799"},"modified":"2026-02-01T14:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:01:19","slug":"newsom-praises-california-mexico-military-partnership-with-visit-to-golden-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=198799","title":{"rendered":"Newsom Praises California-Mexico Military Partnership with Visit to Golden State"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sacramento, CA…As part of a new<\/a> partnership between the California and Mexico military departments, Governor Gavin Newsom thanked Mexico\u2019s National Defense Secretariat (DEFENSA) for their visit to California earlier this week. Nearly a dozen military leaders from Mexico joined California National Guard officials in Sacramento for a multi-day hands-on understanding of the state\u2019s leadership responding to public safety and emergency management capabilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This partnership is a testament of our commitment to collaboration and mutual values. The California National Guard has a proven track record of keeping Californians safe and helping our neighbors when we receive the call. California\u2019s partnership with Mexico strengthens our state\u2019s ability to keep people safe during natural disasters and prevent transnational crime.<\/p>\n

Governor Gavin Newsom<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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During this visit, the California National Guard showcased a range of Army and Air Force aircraft supporting California\u2019s public safety and emergency response mission. Apparatus displays included a counter-drug operations and all-hazards use\u00a0Army Black Hawk helicopter<\/b>, a specially configured long-range mission rescue\u00a0Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter<\/b>, a highly advanced\u00a0Air Force MQ-9 Reaper\u00a0<\/b>that monitors wildfire behavior and provides situational awareness for disasters, and an Air\u00a0Force C-130 aircraft<\/b>\u00a0with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) to drop fire retardant on active wildfires.<\/p>\n

In addition, California officials displayed their\u00a0Air Force F-15 fighter jet<\/b>, representing the Guard\u2019s role in safeguarding U.S. airspace as part of the nation\u2019s homeland defense mission.<\/p>\n

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In late 2025, the California National Guard and Mexico\u2019s DEFENSA, which is the government department managing the Army and Air Force, signed a\u00a0letter of intent<\/a>\u00a0to further enhance border security, amplify our tied economic prosperity, and share military expertise.<\/p>\n

Known as the State Partnership Program, this U.S. Department of Defense security cooperation initiative pairs state National Guards with foreign partner nations to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships through military cooperation, disaster response collaboration, and broader civil-military exchanges that support U.S. defense and foreign policy objectives.<\/p>\n

The California-Mexico Partnership builds upon California\u2019s existing National Guard Partnerships with Nigeria and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The work the Cal Guard servicemembers do is vital to\u00a0California\u2019s overall public safety<\/a>. California and Mexico share deep cultural, economic, and geographic ties \u2014 including a 140-mile border \u2014 and face many of the same challenges, from natural disasters to transnational crime.<\/p>\n

From disrupting dangerous drug trafficking networks and supporting communities during emergencies, to strengthening resilience during times of crisis, California servicemembers bring valuable experience to this partnership \u2014 and will learn from the expertise of their Mexican counterparts as well. Together, this collaboration reinforces a shared commitment to safety, preparedness, and cooperation on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n

\"A\u00a0\"A<\/p>\n

Protecting the border<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Cal Guard\u2019s ongoing efforts, including operations conducted by its Counterdrug Task Force, play a crucial role in addressing drug trafficking.<\/p>\n

There are over 400 servicemembers deployed statewide, including at ports of entry, to combat transnational criminal organizations and seize illegal narcotics. Recently,\u00a0Governor Newsom announced<\/a>\u00a0significant strides toward taking down organized drug rings, including the seizure of over 35,065 pounds of fentanyl and more than 51.8 million pills containing fentanyl, with a street value of more than $498.4 million since 2021.<\/p>\n

As soldiers have gotten back to doing crucial public safety work, it\u2019s important to remember that an estimated\u00a032% of Cal Guard\u2019s servicemembers<\/a>\u00a0dedicated to the Counterdrug Task Force were reassigned by the President to unlawfully militarize Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Increasing disaster resiliency<\/b><\/h3>\n

Our regions also face similar natural disaster risks due to our shared geography. Both California and Mexico are vulnerable to earthquakes and the effects of climate change, such as wildfires and drought.<\/p>\n

Cal Guard servicemembers have been critical in protecting the state from natural disasters and emergencies, such as Task Force Rattlesnake.\u00a0Joint Task Force Rattlesnake<\/a>\u00a0is made up of over 400 Cal Guard members, who work at the direction of CAL FIRE to help fight and prevent fires.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0\"A<\/p>\n

This partnership will strengthen disaster preparedness and build on the existing cooperation between California\u2019s Office of Emergency Services and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. During the fires in January, members of the\u00a0Mexican military\u2019s specialized firefighting unit<\/a>\u00a0and disaster relief workers joined in the response efforts.<\/p>\n

Recognizing our shared economies\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Mexico is California\u2019s largest export market, and California is home to the largest Latino\/Hispanic population in the United States. Nearly 40 percent of the Cal Guard\u2019s personnel identify as Latino\/Hispanic.<\/p>\n

Mexico ranks 2nd globally in total two-way trade with California ($97.8 billion), after China ($137.9 billion) and Mexican-owned companies in California support more than 13,800 jobs.<\/p>\n

Since 2019, California and Mexico have signed seven memorandums of understanding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, CA…As part of a new partnership between the California and Mexico military departments, Governor Gavin Newsom thanked Mexico\u2019s National Defense Secretariat (DEFENSA) for their visit to California earlier this week. Nearly a dozen military leaders from Mexico joined California National Guard officials in Sacramento for a multi-day hands-on understanding of the state\u2019s leadership responding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-198799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Cal-Guard-Mexico-state-partnership-program-1-e1769807514811-924x551-1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=198799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198801,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198799\/revisions\/198801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/198800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=198799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=198799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=198799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}