On Jan. 15, the State Department sent out a “Joint Statement on U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation,” clearly crafted carefully after a phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente earlier in the day. It was their second phone call in one week, and followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats that he is considering “land strikes” into Mexico, purportedly against drug facilities.
The joint statement “reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Mexico partnership grounded in mutual respect for sovereignty, while acknowledging that more must be done to confront shared threats.” Both sides agreed that “despite progress, significant challenges remain,” and therefore that the bilateral Security Implementation Group, set to meet on Jan. 23, “must continue to deliver tangible actions to strengthen security cooperation and meaningful outcomes.” The two also agreed that a Security Ministerial would be held in Washington, D.C. in February, to assess progress made in fighting narcotics trafficking (fentanyl, in particular), identify gaps and “set clear expectations for future collaboration.”
Edgy, but within the bounds of a joint statement. However, when the Western Hemisphere Affairs Office of the U.S. State Department posted the joint statement to X, it added its unilateral statement of “what Mexico must do.” No reference to Mexican “sovereignty” appeared here. It read:
