WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 November 13, 2025.<\/strong> U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong> issued one of the strongest warnings to date about the operational strength of Mexican criminal organizations<\/strong>, calling them \u201ctransnational terrorist groups\u201d<\/em> with firepower, intelligence, and territorial control surpassing many national governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at a State Department press briefing, Rubio said the cartels \u201cpossess more weapons, better training, better intelligence, and more capabilities than many nation-states.\u201d He emphasized that in parts of Mexico, the groups \u201cgovern territory beyond the reach of federal authorities,\u201d posing a binational security threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rubio\u2019s remarks build on his September decision to officially designate major cartels \u2014 including Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generaci\u00f3n \u2014 as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)<\/strong>, a move that expanded sanctions and allowed the U.S. to target their assets and financial networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his aggressive posture, Rubio insisted the Biden-era precedent of avoiding unilateral military action on Mexican soil<\/strong> remains in place. \u201cThe United States must work with<\/em> Mexico, not act alone,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a shared crisis: trafficking, weapons, money, and instability flow in both directions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That point quickly gained traction online after viewers noted that a major driver of cartel militarization has been weapons trafficked from the U.S. into Mexico<\/strong>. ATF tracing data from 2024\u20132025<\/strong> confirms that 70\u201390% of firearms recovered at Mexican crime scenes originate in the United States<\/strong>, including rifles, pistols, and converted automatic weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics argue U.S. policy has long overlooked this supply chain despite calling for tougher counter-cartel operations. \u201cYou can\u2019t talk about cartel firepower without acknowledging where the guns come from,\u201d wrote one user in a viral reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Security analysts say both nations face political obstacles: Mexico resists U.S. intervention narratives, while the U.S. confronts domestic gun-policy gridlock and limited leverage over cross-border smuggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rubio maintains that his FTO designations and joint intelligence task forces will \u201ctighten the noose\u201d on cartel finances, logistics, and leadership \u2014 but acknowledged that dismantling their territorial control will require \u201cyears of coordinated pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statements mark one of the clearest articulations of Washington\u2019s evolving stance: cartel violence is no longer seen as organized crime, but as regional insurgency with geopolitical implications<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS MEXICAN CARTELS OUTGUN LOCAL FORCES, CONTROL TERRITORY BEYOND FEDERAL REACH WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 November 13, 2025. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued one of the strongest warnings to date about the operational strength of Mexican criminal organizations, calling them \u201ctransnational terrorist groups\u201d with firepower, intelligence, and territorial control surpassing many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n