Day 709 — Sheinbaum Rebuffs Rubio's 'Ungoverned Territories' Cartel Claim, Calls It US Midterm Campaign Rhetoric

On September 10, 2026 (Day 709, Thursday), at her National Palace mañanera, President Sheinbaum responded to remarks U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the previous day in Quito, Ecuador, where he said Mexico's fight against drug cartels is "not by far enough," that "there are vast territories in Mexico that are not governed by the State," and that the U.S. would confront the cartel threat "one way or another" if Mexico did not act in partnership with Washington. Sheinbaum said she believed the comments were timed to the United States' own November 2026 elections — "Creo que es parte de la campaña electoral de Estados Unidos. Ellos tienen elecciones en noviembre" — and repeated that "no se debe usar a México" as part of that campaign. She did not directly dispute Rubio's territorial-control claim but pointed to her government's security figures (a 53% drop in the national daily homicide average since October 2024, reported September 8, and fentanyl seizures down more than 70%) as evidence of sustained bilateral cooperation, including the joint "Águila Alta" anti-drone operation launched September 7 in the Tijuana-San Diego corridor. Separately, as Mexico's 2026–27 electoral process formally opened, Sheinbaum urged parties and aspirants ahead of the June 6, 2027 elections to "cumplan la ley, que no haya denostaciones, que haya propuestas," calling on media to guard against disinformation.