Bloomberg: US demanded that Mexico prevent its citizens from crossing the border
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed measures against illegal migration, fentanyl trafficking and cartels during his first in-person meeting in Washington with Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco. As Mexico News Daily reports, Bloomberg, citing informed sources, says that in a private conversation the American side made a tougher demand: Mexico must prevent its citizens from crossing the US border.
Statements after the meeting
Velasco wrote on social network X that the sides reviewed the results of security cooperation, efforts to counter drug and arms trafficking, as well as the fight against transnational organized crime. According to him, they also discussed respect for the rights of Mexican migrants in the United States.
The minister stressed that cooperation with Washington must be based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, shared responsibility, mutual trust and interaction without subordination. Rubio, for his part, said that he had discussed with Velasco decisive action to end illegal migration, stop fentanyl trafficking and eliminate foreign terrorist organizations and cartels.
Bloomberg data on US demands
According to Bloomberg, Rubio told his Mexican counterpart that President Donald Trump's administration wants Mexico to more actively stop illegal migrants crossing the US border. The agency's sources linked this to a recent increase in the number of migrant detentions at the United States' southern border.
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As Bloomberg notes, the initiative is being promoted by homeland security adviser Stephen Miller. The agency writes that fulfilling the requirement concerning Mexican citizens could create constitutional and legal difficulties for President Claudia Sheinbaum's government, since Mexican citizens can move freely within the country, including from southern states to northern regions and the border area.
Tensions in relations
The meeting took place amid tensions in bilateral relations. Among the reasons, Mexico News Daily cites reports of the CIA's possible involvement in a raid on a drug laboratory in the state of Chihuahua without the Mexican authorities' knowledge, Trump's threats to use military force against cartels in Mexico, and US tariffs on some Mexican goods.
The United States has added eight Mexican cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Sheinbaum had previously criticized what she called US interference in Mexico's internal affairs, but said she was prepared to continue security cooperation with the Trump administration.
