Rubio heads to Mexico as neighbors navigate Trump demands

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed Tuesday on his first trip in office to Mexico, which has so far succeeded in navigating treacherous terrain with President Donald Trump who wants tough action on migration and cartels.

Rubio is set to meet Wednesday with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on a trip that will also take him to Ecuador, where Trump ally Daniel Noboa is in charge.

The State Department said Rubio would press on both stops for "swift and decisive action to dismantle cartels, halt fentanyl trafficking, end illegal immigration" and counter the "malign" influence of China.

Hours before Rubio's arrival, Sheinbaum said she would draw a line on US military intervention in Mexico, after Trump signed an order authorizing force against cartels.

"The United States is not going to act alone because there is an understanding," she told reporters.

"We have been working for months on an understanding to collaborate on security matters," she said.

What Mexico will not accept is "intervention," she said. "We also don't accept violations of our territory, we don't accept subordination. Simply collaboration between nations on equal terms."

Trump has declared drug cartels to be terrorist organizations, although few expect that even the unpredictable US leader would take the drastic step of military action on Mexican soil.

- Sheinbaum stresses cooperation -

Sheinbaum hails from Mexico's left but has searched for common ground with Trump, much like her predecessor and ideological ally Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Trump's first term.

Mexico has cooperated on enforcement of the border against US-bound migrants, who mostly come from Central America or elsewhere rather than Mexico, and extradited people wanted by the United States.

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She has also taken steps to curb imports from China, whose manufacturers have eyed Mexico as a way into the US market.

"President Sheinbaum from the beginning decided that she is going to seek a cooperative and collaborative relationship" with the Trump administration, said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director at the Atlantic Council's Latin America Center.

"She has been emphatic in defending Mexican sovereignty, but at the same time reaching out to the United States and seeing where they can work together," he said.

The stability in the relationship marks a sharp contrast to Trump's  pressure campaigns against the outspoken leftist leaders of two other Latin American powers, Brazil and Colombia.

Trump has voiced respect for Sheinbaum and earlier this year even took the uncharacteristic step of crediting her with an idea on combatting fentanyl, the painkilling drug behind an overdose epidemic in the United States.

"I know everything, and I never learn anything from anybody, and I spoke to this woman, and as soon as she said it, I said, 'Exactly, what a great idea,'" said Trump, who has also commented favorably on the appearance of Mexico's first female president.

Mexicans are not on board with Trump, who rose to political prominence describing undocumented Mexicans as rapists and vowing to erect a wall to seal off the southern border.

The image of the United States has deteriorated more sharply in Mexico than in any other country since Trump returned, according to a Pew Research Center survey published in July, which found that 91 percent of Mexicans lacked confidence in Trump.

But Sheinbaum has won high marks for her handling of her US counterpart as well as the rest of her agenda, with polls showing she enjoys support of three-quarters of Mexicans.

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