Marco Rubio says Mexico doing 'not nearly enough' on cartels

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Mexico was doing “not nearly enough” to tackle drug cartels, while praising Mexican efforts and saying much more had to be done.

“There are territories, vast territories in Mexico that are not governed by the state,” Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador.

Rubio said the cartels retained the power to challenge state authority. He cited killings of political candidates, judges and journalists as evidence of their influence, and warned that the groups posed a growing cross-border threat through drones and trafficking networks used to move drugs and migrants.

“Our hope and our intent is to do it in partnership with Mexico. That's the ideal,” Rubio said. “But eventually, that threat will have to be confronted one way or the other.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has had a strained relationship with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of US military intervention south of the border. Washington has also increased pressure by indicting a Mexican state governor who is a member of Sheinbaum's ruling party.