Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump’s secret plan to send American military forces into Mexico to combat drug cartels.
Sheinbaum emphasized that any such military intervention on Mexican soil is completely unacceptable and ruled out.In an interview with The New York Times, Sheinbaum stated, “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”
She added that military action was never part of any agreement and that Mexico has consistently refused such proposals.
This response follows a report revealing that Trump had secretly signed an order instructing the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations by his administration.
According to the report, U.S. military officials started drafting plans for potential operations targeting these groups.
The directive raises concerns about the potential for an expanded military presence in Mexico, risking a situation similar to protracted conflicts like those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such an intervention could severely damage the long-standing cooperative relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, a key economic and strategic partner.
Arturo Rocha, a former Mexican foreign official, underscored the importance of cooperation with Mexico, saying, “They need Mexico’s cooperation and they need Mexico’s state and society to be functioning. This isn’t Afghanistan, where the state is broken, and you can do whatever you want as there’s a void.”
Critics of the Trump administration have worried that military action on the southern border could escalate tensions and conflict, fueled by escalating anti-migrant rhetoric and political distractions within the U.S. The prospect of deploying U.S. troops to combat drug cartels in Mexico remains highly controversial and fraught with geopolitical risks.
