Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum welcomed statements by Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, regarding the work that both countries need to do to address drug cartels.
"We'll take his word for it and wait that when conditions are given we can have high-level dialogues to collaborate and coordinate" on the matter, Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference.
Sheinbaum went on to dismiss the potential impact of the U.S. designating cartels as terrorist organizations, focusing on Rubio's intention to work together. "We'll always look, like Marco Rubio said, to collaborate and coordinate," she added.
Rubio didn't anticipate whether he will look to designate cartels as terrorist organizations, but he did say they are "terrorizing the United States." "Sadly, they also have, basically, operational control over huge swaths of the border regions between Mexico and the United States. That's just an unfortunate fact, and it's one we're gonna have to confront with our partners in Mexico," he added.
"And whether [designating them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization] is the tool that we use, which it may be the appropriate one, or some new one that we come up with, it's important for us not just to go after these groups, but to identify them and call them for what they are, and that is terroristic in their nature, because they are terrorizing America with mass migration and with the flow of drugs."
Donald Trump, however, has taken a more hostile approach to the matter, having suggested last year that he would consider sending American troops into Mexico or bomb the country to fight cartels.
Back in July, Fox News's Jesse Watters asked Trump if he'd consider strikes against drug cartels operating in the country. Trump said yes, although the statement was also interpreted as a potential threat against the Mexican government in hopes of decreasing cartels' influence. "Mexico's gonna have to straighten it out really fast, or the answer is absolutely," the former president said.
Trump's pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), along with Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) even co-introduced legislation last year to create an Authorization for Use of Military Force to target Mexican drug cartels.
Plans presented to Trump have included airstrikes on cartel infrastructure, assassinating cartel leaders, and training Mexican forces to complete those tasks, according to Rolling Stone. The scheme would most likely include covert operations and patrol just over the border to stem the flow of drugs across the border.
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