Senior Mexican security and diplomatic officials will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Thursday, February 27th, President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters on Wednesday, as bilateral tensions over drug gangs and migration simmer.
Sheinbaum said her government’s entire security cabinet – including the foreign minister, heads of the Army and Navy, the security chief and attorney general – will attend the meetings in the U.S. capital.
The leftist leader noted that preparations for the talks have been ongoing for several days, and that her envoys will seek agreements “within the framework of our sovereignty.”
The meeting comes after the U.S. administration designated several Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, raising concerns of unilateral U.S. strikes on Mexican territory.
It also comes as next week’s deadline approaches for when U.S. President Donald Trump could slap blanket 25% tariffs on both Mexican and Canadian goods if they do not do more to stop the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States.
The U.S. tariff threat comes ahead of a planned 2026 revision of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact that Trump negotiated during his previous term. Sheinbaum acknowledged on Wednesday that a renegotiation of the accord would likely take place sooner.
Regarding both tariffs and security, Mexico has said it is seeking coordination and collaboration with its northern neighbor, and has pushed for the United States to do more to prevent the southern flow of guns to criminal groups.
“We don’t want fentanyl to reach the United States or Mexico or anywhere else,” said Sheinbaum, noting the meetings would focus on the Mexican border city on Tijuana, which has one of the highest homicide rates in the country.
