Rubio greenlights $7M+ in waivers to keep border security efforts in Mexico alive amid funding freeze

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is using waivers to keep programs in Mexico and related to border security and anti-fentanyl efforts going amid a federal funding freeze – as he seeks to put pressure on Mexico to increase its efforts.

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital on Friday that Rubio has been granting waivers to the administration-wide pause on federal funding for efforts under the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Program.

The INL program provides aid to border security agencies in other countries that could pose a threat to the U.S. if narcotics production, organized crime and terrorist activity are allowed to flourish. 

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“INL programs aim to reduce the entry of illegal drugs into the United States and minimize the impact of international crime on the United States and its citizens,” the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website says. That includes programs that target fentanyl smuggling. Illicit fentanyl, which can be fatal in tiny doses, is typically made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico land border. Fentanyl overdoses kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Rubio recently completed a tour of Latin America, where he secured a number of commitments from foreign governments in terms of border security. The official said that INL programming has been coming back online in those countries since that trip.

Reuters reported on Thursday that INL programming in Mexico had been halted, including programs that train Mexican authorities to find and destroy fentanyl labs and to stop precursor chemicals entering Mexico. But the State Department official disputed that, telling Fox News Digital that some Mexican programming has already been granted waivers. Specifically, there has been $5.2M in waivers approved to date for Mexico, with an additional $2.5 million pending resubmission.

They said those waivers included funding for law enforcement in Mexico that has supported the extradition of transnational criminal organization members to the U.S. who have exported fentanyl and smuggled migrants into the U.S. Other programs include a wire intercept program and programs that assist with drug trafficking investigations of cartel members.

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The official said that announcements of those waivers have not been forthcoming because Rubio is hoping to secure additional commitments from Mexico on border security.

“A new administration in the US has taken office, and we need increased commitments on the part of Mexico to assure us that they’re serious when it comes to stopping the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs,” the official said.

The official said there have been some waivers so far because the U.S. wants to show it is a reliable partner, but other programs are being reviewed and “we don’t want to turn them on yet until we know that our Mexican counterparts are going to promise various actions in return.”

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One of the areas that the U.S. wishes to see further action on is the rejection of INL assistance by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who the U.S. previously said had refused to participate in a U.S. program to train and equip Mexican police. The new Sheinbaum administration has now approved part of that assistance, officials say, but has not approved the rest, or eliminated an approval system that caused the blockage. Officials believe Rubio’s visit will confirm Mexico’s commitment and that the announcement of resumption of more INL funding will follow.

The push comes amid a migration-focused start by the Trump administration and the State Department. The administration has secured a number of border-related commitments from Mexico and Canada, as well as promises to accept migrants being returned from Venezuela and Colombia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.