Marco Rubio admits that Mexican cartels buy weapons in the US

MEXICO CITY (apro).- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that Mexican cartels “have weapons they buy in the United States,” and asserted that there are parts of Mexico governed by “terrorist” organizations.

During a House hearing on Wednesday, May 21, Rubio emphasized that Mexican authorities' security cooperation has been "quite positive" and that Mexico has been "very receptive" to concerns raised by the Trump administration:

"(The authorities) have increased their security cooperation with us, (although) there is still work to be done on migration," he said.

He even announced that, in the coming weeks, he intends to travel to Mexico with other cabinet members to promote the bilateral alliance.

He also indicated that the main areas the United States wants to address with Mexico are trade and security.

"We have a mutual interest. The cartels that operate in Mexico and threaten the state carry weapons purchased in our country and shipped there. We want to help stem that flow," he said.

The secretary added that "there are parts of Mexico governed by cartels," where political violence "is real," referring to the murder of Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz, collaborators of Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada.

"I believe I heard last night that two more people were murdered in Mexico City, associated with the mayor. The political violence there is real. Authorities are intent on pursuing these cartels, and we want to help equip them and provide them with information to combat them," he said.

He said that several of these criminal groups have already been declared "global terrorist organizations" by Washington, and reiterated that Mexican authorities are "cooperating more than ever" in the capture and extradition of criminals wanted by the United States.

After returning to the White House in January, Trump designated groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as foreign terrorist organizations.

Sheinbaum's response to Rubio's statements

During her morning press conference on May 22, President Claudia Sheinbaum asked the Secretary of State not to speculate or jump to conclusions regarding the murder of Guzmán and Muñoz, which occurred on Tuesday, May 20, on Calzada de Tlalpan:

"I don't want to say anything to anyone, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Investigations must be conducted to determine the cause and motive of this unfortunate and tragic homicide. Therefore, no speculation can be made until all the investigations are completed," he stated.

He announced that he has no intention of increasing security measures and denied that any collaborator had received threats.

The Mexico City Attorney General's Office (FGJCDMX) and the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) reported they are searching for four people linked to the crime. So far, they stated that there is no conclusive hypothesis for the double murder.