Aerial view of an US Border Patrol pickup bext to the wall being constructed at the US-Mexico border in Santa Teresa, N.M., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Jan. 14, 2026. PHerika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images
The United States is placing pressure on Mexico to hasten a crackdown on drug cartels, saying that gradual improvements are not enough to slow the flow of deadly fentanyl into American communities.
The directive came during a Thursday phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, part of a series of high-level discussions aimed at increasing bilateral security efforts.
