Overview

• The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Mexico and Ecuador from September 2–4 to pursue rapid actions against cartels, stop fentanyl trafficking, curb illegal migration, address the trade deficit, and advance economic ties while countering extracontinental actors.
• President Claudia Sheinbaum has said it is very likely a U.S.–Mexico security agreement will be signed during the visit, describing a framework based on sovereignty, territoriality, mutual trust, and collaboration.
• Tension over the DEA’s announced ‘Proyecto Portero’ persists, with Sheinbaum denying any such operative agreement and insisting security coordination is conducted with the State Department and with respect for Mexican sovereignty.
• Rubio’s stop in Quito will include a meeting with President Daniel Noboa and an effort to discourage deeper alignment with China, according to U.S. officials and the State Department’s focus on nonregional influence.
• The department framed this as Rubio’s fourth hemispheric trip and part of President Trump’s America First agenda, and an unnamed U.S. official said Rubio is expected in Mexico City Tuesday and Wednesday, while downplaying prospects for a major formal accord.