U.S., Mexico pledge deeper ties as Trump defends strike on alleged cartel boat

['Foreign Correspondent Patrick J. Mcdonnell Is The Los Angeles Times Mexico City Bureau Chief', 'Previously Headed Times Bureaus In Beirut', 'Buenos Aires', 'Baghdad. A Native Of The Bronx', 'Mcdonnell Is A Graduate Of Columbia S Graduate School Of Journalism', 'Was A Nieman Fellow At Harvard.'] Los Angeles Times 2025-09-03 00:00:00

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference in Mexico City on Sept. 3, 2025. In Mexico, Rubio hailed the strike, stating that traditional interdiction efforts had failed to stop the flow of drugs via the Caribbean. “What will stop them is when you blow them up,” Rubio told reporters in Mexico City. Trump has reportedly issued a secret order directing the Pentagon to strike at Latin American cartels. In July, Mexico won a 90-day reprieve on a Trump administration plan to impose 30% tariffs on Mexican imports.