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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on Wednesday in what had been billed as the signing of a new security accord. Instead, the outcome was a reaffirmation of existing collaboration, with the creation of a "high-level implementation group" tasked with monitoring progress.
"This is a high-level group that will meet and coordinate on a regular basis to make sure that all the things we are working on are being implemented," Rubio told reporters. "It's the closest cooperation we've ever had, maybe with any country, but certainly in the history of U.S.-Mexico relations."
Tackling criminal organizations involved in the international drug trade is one of the key demands from President Trump to Mexico. Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente said the framework aims to reassure both nations that "models of cooperation can be built that work, that give results."
He pointed to constitutional reforms elevating fentanyl trafficking to a more serious crime and the extradition of dozens of suspects to U.S. courts as proof of Mexico's commitment. De la Fuente stressed that cooperation would respect national sovereignty amid growing unease over Washington's role in the region.
The announcement highlighted three main issues: the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, the trafficking of firearms into Mexico, and irregular migration across the shared border. Rubio highlighted Mexico's job saying that "migration numbers today at the U.S. southern border are the lowest they have ever been."
The meeting came as President Donald Trump expanded the U.S. military's role in the Caribbean, raising regional concerns about intervention. Rubio defended the president's approach, saying he has authority "under exigent circumstances to eliminate imminent threats to the United States." Mexico reiterated its preference for non-intervention and peaceful conflict resolution.
Sheinbaum, in a State of the Nation address marking her first year in office, underscored that "under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the country." At the same time, she has taken a harder line against cartels than her predecessor, deploying the National Guard to the northern border and extraditing 55 cartel figures to U.S. custody.
While tariffs were not a central theme of Wednesday's announcement, they remain a looming pressure point. Trump has tied Mexico's cooperation on security and migration to averting duties as high as 30% on Mexican exports. For now, Sheinbaum's government has managed to avoid new trade penalties while presenting Washington with evidence of stepped-up action against organized crime.
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