Overview
- Following a call between Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department labeled Mexico’s gradual progress “unacceptable” and demanded concrete, verifiable results on fentanyl and arms trafficking.
- Sheinbaum confirmed Washington offered to insert agency personnel, potentially including CIA or military elements, into operations in Mexico, a proposal her government has repeatedly refused.
- Mexico is offering expanded intelligence sharing, surveillance equipment provided on request, and a larger U.S. role in command centers, with all field operations conducted solely by Mexican forces.
- Citing U.S. CBP data and government figures, Sheinbaum pointed to a roughly 50% drop in fentanyl seizures near the border tied to interdictions inside Mexico, large drug seizures including at sea, a decline in intentional homicides, and a Baja California operation intercepting dozens of firearms.
- Both governments agreed to convene a security ministerial in Washington in February to review the first year of their bilateral security cooperation.