Vast territories in Mexico are not controlled by the state, but by terrorist cartels, said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that Mexico’s efforts to stop them are not nearly enough. In his statements, Rubio implied that the threat posed by terrorist cartels will be dealt with, with or without Mexico’s help.
“The Mexicans have done more than ever before to go after these groups, but it is still not nearly enough,” Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador, where he met with the country’s leadership in an effort to strengthen that country’s efforts in fighting organized crime. “They know that. We have expressed that to them.”
Rubio said that despite the newfound cooperation with Mexico’s government, there are vast territories under the control of the cartels.
“The people of Mexico will tell you that,” the secretary said. “The number one issue in Mexico, poll after poll shows, is security. Political candidates are routinely assassinated in Mexico, judges routinely assassinated, journalists who report on the cartels routinely assassinated by these groups.”
Various countries in Central and South America have opened the door to full U.S. support in eradicating cartels. This support includes military assets working with local forces in targeting and taking out terrorist cartels. This, however, has not happened in Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum has tried to hide under the banner of national sovereignty in an attempt to keep U.S. troops out of Mexico.
“Our hope, our intent is to do it in partnership with Mexico,” Rubio said. “That’s the ideal, but eventually that threat will have to be confronted one way or the other.”
Sheinbaum has allowed information to be shared between both countries while Mexican troops and police forces carry out the raids. This approach has earned her much criticism internationally, especially when several members of her political party have been implicated in cartel-connected activities.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the current governor of Sinaloa, Ruben Rocha Moya, is wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on drug trafficking conspiracy and weapons charges for his alleged work with the Sinaloa Cartel. Publicly, Sheinbaum has defended Rocha Moya, claiming that the U.S. has not provided evidence of wrongdoing on Rocha Moya’s part.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.