US top diplomat Rubio to visit Mexico and Ecuador next week

29/8/2025 6:21

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Mexico and Ecuador next week, the State Department said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's

administration seeks to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S., combat drug cartels and counter Chinese influence in Latin America.



Rubio, the first Latino U.S. secretary of state, visited Central America and the Caribbean in his first overseas trip as Washington's top diplomat earlier this year.



Trump has imposed hardline immigration policies, sought to tackle cartels and launched a global trade war with tariffs that target individual products and countries.



Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the U.S. and Mexico are nearing a security agreement to expand cooperation against cartels. But she has rejected suggestions by the Trump administration that it could carry out unilateral military operations in Mexico.