MEXICO CITY (Realist English). President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed the possibility of US military intervention in Mexico, stressing that the country’s independence was “not at risk” despite growing tensions over Washington’s approach to drug cartels.
Her remarks came after reports that US President Donald Trump had signed a classified order authorising the American military to target Latin American cartels, including several that smuggle drugs into the US from Mexico.
“We will never put our sovereignty at risk, we will never put Mexico’s independence at risk. Mexico is a free, sovereign, independent country,” Sheinbaum said.
The idea of military action against the cartels has loomed over US–Mexico relations since Trump, in his first weeks in office, designated eight of them as terrorist organisations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week: “We cannot continue to just treat these guys as local street gangs. They have weaponry that looks like what terrorists — in some cases armies — have. It allows us to now target what they’re operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense.”
Trade, security, and migration have all been points of friction between Washington and Mexico City since Trump took office. Mexico has secured favourable trade terms under the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), with most exports entering the US tariff-free, but pressure from Washington over cartel activity has intensified. Trump recently said Sheinbaum was “a lovely woman but is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”
Earlier this year, Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s offer of US military assistance in tackling the cartels — a stance that has boosted her domestic approval ratings to over 70%. While she has publicly opposed the deployment of US troops on Mexican soil, security experts warn that the more likely risk is the use of American drone strikes.
“We collaborate, we co-ordinate on security matters and others, but we never subordinate ourselves, and we will never, ever allow the US army or any other institution of the US to set foot in Mexican territory,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico’s economy is deeply tied to the US, its largest trading partner, but relations have been shaped by a history that includes the loss of roughly half of Mexico’s territory to the US in the 19th century. While Sheinbaum has adopted a tougher stance against cartels than her predecessor and mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, she faces growing domestic pressure to investigate possible ties between criminal groups and members of her own party.
