Rubio: No US Troops for Mexico Cartel Fight

Hamilton, Canada — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ruled out the possibility of the United States sending forces into Mexico to combat drug cartels or taking unilateral measures. However, he insisted that there are areas of the country "controlled" by drug trafficking organizations that are "more powerful than local law enforcement and even national forces."

In remarks to the press at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Canada, where he participated in the G7 summit, Rubio was questioned on Wednesday about the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo, which occurred on November 1 during the Day of the Dead celebrations, and about the assistance the United States can provide against the cartels.

"We are willing to provide them with all the help they need. Obviously, they do not want us to take measures, we are not going to take unilateral measures or send American forces to Mexico, but we can help them with equipment, training, intelligence sharing, and all kinds of assistance we can offer them if they request it. They have to ask for it," Rubio responded.

The U.S. Secretary of State noted that the mayor's murder is just one of many assassinations of journalists, politicians, and judges perpetrated by the cartels. He defended the designation of the cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by President Donald Trump.

"These cartels are very powerful," said Rubio. "That they lack an ideological motivation does not mean they are not terrorists. You don't need to be ideological to be a terrorist. And they are terrorists because, in many cases, they possess more weapons, better training, better intelligence, and more capabilities than nation-states," he added.

He pointed to the case of Ecuador where, he stated, the cartels "threaten the Ecuadorian state." In Mexico, he insisted, "there are areas of the country that, frankly, are controlled by these cartels, which are more powerful than local law enforcement and even national forces. Therefore, this represents a concern throughout the hemisphere."

Rubio described the cartels as "the most serious endemic problem in the region. They are not just criminal organizations, but terrorist organizations, as they threaten the viability and capabilities of nation-states."

The U.S. official highlighted, at the same time, the existing cooperation between the United States and Mexico. "The level of cooperation between the United States and Mexico today is the highest in history, it is growing and it is positive, driven by what they ask for, what they need, and to help them improve their own capabilities if they request it from us. And in some cases they have; in others, they already have those capabilities."

Rubio assured that "we have an excellent relationship with them. We have achieved incredible advances in the first 10 months of this year," though he acknowledged it is a long-standing problem and that "it will take time to see tangible progress. In some cases, we have already seen it. For example, we are achieving extraditions faster than ever; not always, but in many cases. So we have no complaints about the level of cooperation we have received from Mexico, and the work we are doing with them is historic."