By Daphne Psaledakis MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Mexican leaders on Wednesday during his first trip to the country since taking office, as the Trump administration pursues a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and drug cartels and seeks to counter China's influence in Latin America. Washington's top diplomat will visit Mexico City and Ecuador in his latest trip to the region, where he will meet with counterparts and the presidents of the two countries. Rubio, the first Latino U.S. secretary of state, traveled to countries in Central America and the Caribbean during his first overseas trip after taking office as the administration sought to shift back focus to Latin America. The trip to Mexico and Ecuador comes after the U.S. military attacked a vessel from Venezuela in the Caribbean on Tuesday that U.S. officials said was carrying illegal drugs. It was the first known operation since the Trump administration's recent surge of warships to the region that has raised tensions between Washington and Caracas. The visit comes as Trump has also intensified his campaign to deport migrants in the U.S. illegally, sending federal agents into major U.S. cities and pushing for high daily arrest quotas. The crackdown on illegal immigration has drawn criticism from some Latin American countries, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has condemned recent immigration raids in the United States. While Sheinbaum has maintained good ties with Trump, the administration's trade policies and efforts to combat drug cartels have disrupted the relationship between the two neighbors. "The relationship is not in its best situation right now," said Martha Barcena Coqui, who served as Mexico's ambassador to the United States and is now an expert with Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. Rubio and Mexican officials would likely have "very candid" talks on combating cartels, she added. 'CHARGED ISSUE' Earlier this year, Washington designated some Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Sheinbaum has said the U.S. and Mexico are nearing a security agreement to expand cooperation in fighting them, but she has flatly rejected suggestions by the Trump administration that it could carry out unilateral military operations in Mexico. The U.S. military has ramped up airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels and Trump has authorized the Pentagon to begin using military force against the groups. The recent surge of warships in the southern Caribbean is also part of the aim of following through on Trump's pledge to crack down on cartels. "That's probably the most sort of charged issue," Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said. A senior State Department official said Washington hoped to be able to announce concrete measures on security, illegal immigration and countering China during Rubio's visits to Mexico and Ecuador. Washington has also been working with Mexico to ensure China does not use it as a backdoor to the United States, either to evade U.S. tariffs on China or for fentanyl, the official said. TARIFF OFFENSIVE Trump's trade war, and the tariffs he has imposed on Mexico, are also likely to feature prominently, though the tariffs are not Rubio's portfolio. Mexico in July was able to avoid 30% tariffs on its shipments to the U.S., securing a 90-day pause to work on a trade deal with the Trump administration. But it is still subject to the previously imposed 25% fentanyl tariffs, though goods sent under the USMCA trade agreement - which are most of them - are exempt. Barcena and Freeman both said they expected the review and renegotiation of the USMCA to also be a priority during Rubio's visit. "If they can get through those issues without butting heads publicly, I think it will be a way for them to just show that they actually consider each other relatively cooperative partners," Freeman said. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)
