Opinion | Trump Can’t Blame Mexico for Our Drug Problem

His main priority is really to stop the flow of migrants and asylum seekers, and it was the rise in their numbers that triggered the latest round of rhetoric. But from his 2016 presidential campaign until now, he has also railed against the flow of drugs from Mexico and used it to bolster his arguments to “build a wall” and beef up security. “Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl,” he said in a January speech, pushing for wall funding.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico has avoided answering Mr. Trump’s ultimatum on drugs, at least publicly. When asked about it on April 5, he said he had no problems with the White House. “Relations are good. We have no confrontation with the government of the United States.”

Meanwhile, he seems to be placating Washington by stepping up arrests of undocumented migrants heading through Mexico.

Seizures of drugs in Mexico appear to be down in the first quarter, according to early reports, which may have helped prompt Mr. Trump’s ultimatum. The problem is that even when Mexico has made major seizures in recent years, the northward flow of narcotics to Americans hasn’t stopped. But then, regardless of Washington, Mexico does face the herculean problem of organized crime ravaging its society.

A better way forward would be for the two nations to work together on real policies that reduce the damage unleashed by drugs and cartels. U.S. and Mexican agencies should team up to target the most violent gangsters, to lower the number of homicides in Mexico and to lower the number of people fleeing over the border as refugees. Mexico could do far more to weed out the narco corruption, which is destroying its political system. And the United States could provide considerably more rehabilitation services to reduce addiction and overdoses, many of which are actually from prescription drugs.

There are real problems, from the corners of Baltimore to the mountains of Mexico. But they need integral long-term solutions, not simplistic ultimatums and threats.

Mr. Grillo is a contributing opinion writer.

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