Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded on Friday after a report from The New York Times stated that President Donald Trump had quietly signed an order to use military force against drug cartels in foreign countries.
Sheinbaum, who previously rejected an offer from Trump for the U.S. military to help fight the drug cartels, said on Friday, “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military.” The Mexican president added that U.S. officials had given her a heads-up that Trump’s directive “was coming,” according to The New York Times.
“We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,” she continued. “That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out,” she said. “It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no.”
Sheinbaum said that she was assured by the United States that Trump’s order would not include sending troops into Mexico. The directive reportedly singles out Latin American drug cartels that are designated as foreign terrorist organizations, but it was not immediately clear which specific cartels or transnational gangs the Trump administration would pursue under the new directive.
Mexico has been overrun by numerous violent drug cartels for decades, and most of the drug cartels listed by the United States as terrorist organizations primarily operate in Mexico. Two transnational criminal gangs, Tren de Aragua (TdA) and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, have cells in Central America, according to the State Department. The Trump administration also recently designated the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization.
After pressure from Trump earlier this year, Sheibaum reportedly deployed hundreds of troops to fight the Sinaloa Cartel — one of Mexico’s most powerful — with the group suffering significant losses. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said last month that U.S. fentanyl seizures were down and Mexico fentanyl seizures were on the rise “thanks to increased collaboration” between the two countries.
“Under [President Trump’s] and President [Sheinbaum’s] leadership, cartels are going bankrupt and our countries are safer because of it,” Johnson added.
Trump has used tariffs as a negotiating tool to pressure Mexico into helping the United States secure the border and crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The president has also deployed U.S. troops and drones to patrol the southern border. Trump’s actions have led to the lowest level of illegal border crossings ever recorded by Customs and Border Protection.