Are Trump and Rubio Trying a Version of Trust but Verify With Mexico?

Originally published by Fox Digital

"[T]here’s no other government," said the United States secretary of State, "that’s cooperating as much with us in the fight against crime as the Government of Mexico." Issued several days ago from the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, with the uppermost tier of Mexico’s political elite beaming approvingly, it was a bold statement for Marco Rubio to make.

It’s a big win for them, in their desperation to ward off what they see as a series of worst-case outcomes, among them tariffs, the end of United States–Mexico–Canada trade agreement (USMCA), American extraditions of their cartel-connected political class, and U.S. military strikes in their country. In this context, the praise from Rubio — perceived as a Latin America hawk in general — comes as a tremendous relief. They will, at minimum, wield it as validation the next time any other American suggests Mexico isn’t doing enough.

From Mexico’s perspective, it is nearly a get-out-of-jail-free card. The question is what, exactly, it means.

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