The U.S. State Department demanded “concrete and verifiable” results from Mexico against fentanyl drug trafficking, in a call between Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday.
“The United States made clear that incremental progress on border security challenges is unacceptable. Upcoming bilateral contacts will require concrete and verifiable results to dismantle narco-terrorist networks,” the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in a message on X. “The United States made clear that incremental progress on border security challenges is unacceptable.
US demands Mexico for results against drug trafficking
The tone of the publication on the social network contrasts with the statement released simultaneously from Washington and the Government of Mexico, which sent a joint message after the call to reaffirm “the importance of collaboration” between the two countries “based on mutual respect for sovereignty”.
The statement also notes that Rubio and De la Fuente “agreed that more needs to be done to address shared threats.”
It also adds that a “high-level” security meeting will be convened in Washington in February.
US President Donald Trump has reiterated the possibility of attacking cartels operating in Mexico to combat drug trafficking.
Her Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, has repeatedly refused to allow any U.S. military action on Mexican territory.
Trump’s rhetoric in this regard has increased in intensity after Washington launched a military intervention in Caracas to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transport him to New York, where he remains in detention and faces drug trafficking charges.
The version from Mexico
As reported by the Mexican Foreign Ministry in a joint communiqué, “the secretaries reaffirmed the importance of collaboration between Mexico and the United States, based on mutual respect for sovereignty, and agreed that more needs to be done to address shared threats”.
Both officials agreed that, despite progress, security challenges persist and that the bilateral Security Implementation Group, whose next meeting will be held on January 23, should reinforce concrete actions against cartels and the trafficking of fentanyl and arms along the border.
The secretaries also agreed to convene a Security Ministerial Meeting in Washington D.C. in February, “on the occasion of the first anniversary of the beginning of this new chapter in bilateral cooperation on security issues”.
“Such a high-level meeting will provide an opportunity to assess progress made and clearly define future collaborations,” the note concluded.
No military intervention?
The conversation between the foreign ministers follows the call held on Monday between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who at the end of the call stated that military intervention in Mexico had been “ruled out”, as the US president had threatened days earlier by pointing to possible ground attacks on drug cartels.
On Wednesday, January 14, Sheinbaum mentioned that she does not rule out the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Trump, once the official events for the anniversary of his arrival to the White House, on January 20, are over.
The President stressed that both countries have a broad agenda of joint work, particularly in relation to the World Cup that Mexico will organize together with the United States and Canada, which will be inaugurated in the Mexican capital on June 11.
Filed under: US demands Mexico
With information from EFE
