Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reacted to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who highlighted in a call with counterpart Juan Ramon de la Fuente the need to get "tangible results" in the fight against cartels in the country.
Speaking during her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said her government has achieved "very strong results" in the fight against criminal organizations. "There needs to be a shared responsibility," she added.
The remark follows a statement from the U.S. State Department following a call between Rubio and his Mexican counterpart, which noted that they acknowledged that "significant challenges remain" to address joint security matters.
The department noted in a statement that the two "recognized that despite progress, significant challenges remain," and pointed at the need to "continue delivering tangible actions to strengthen security cooperation and meaningful outcomes to counter cartels, and stop the illicit flow of fentanyl and weapons from crossing" the border.
"They agreed to follow up on bilateral initiatives to promote information-sharing and on cross-border security initiatives," the statement adds.
The conversation also follows one between the countries' presidents, Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum, in which the former again suggested sending troops into Mexico to combat criminal organizations.
Sheinbaum said she rejected the proposal, adding that she told her counterpart that organized crime can't be equated to terrorism and Mexico rejects any action that amounts to an intervention in the country.
"He understood, he was very kind," Sheinbaum said during a passage of her daily conference. She added that Trump recognized her administration's work in matters of security but noted that more can be done. "What's important is continue maintaining respect and collaboration," Sheinbaum added.
In this context, a recent report noted that the Trump administration is pushing for its forces to accompany Mexican counterparts in raids on suspected fentanyl labs.
The New York Times detailed that the administration first made such a request since early last year but then dropped it. However, the topic has been brought back to the conversation following the capture of Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
Elsewhere in the report, the NYT noted that officials have instead offered alternatives such as increased information sharing and for the U.S. to play a greater role inside command centers.
Mexican officials, the outlet added, are under pressure to reach an agreement, and some in the U.S. want to conduct drone strikes against suspected drug labs. However, fentanyl labs are difficult to find and destroy, and forces are still developing ways to do so.
Right now, the CIA is carrying secret drone flights over Mexico to identify possible locations. The intelligence is then given to Mexican forces, many of whom have been trained by U.S. counterparts to execute and conduct raids.
However, now Washington has proposed for forces to join the raids and provide support even if Mexican forces continue taking the lead and making key decisions.
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