🔗 Share this article

Mexico's President Sheinbaum has firmly denied allegations that the United States is considering to deploy troops into the country to confront dominant drug trafficking organizations, stating that she has repeatedly declined such offers from Donald Trump.

“This will not occur,” Sheinbaum declared during her regular press briefing on that day. “We are opposed to any process of interventionism or external interference.”

Background on the Allegations

Sheinbaum's remarks follow a news story quoting current and former US officials that the Trump administration has started planning for a operation to deploy American military personnel and intelligence officers into Mexico.

This information indicated that although the operation was not immediate and no final decision had been reached, the early stages of training had commenced along with talks about the extent of the deployment.

Furthermore, the account stated that American forces would function under the authority of the American spy agencies, and that officers from the CIA would take part as well.

The Nation's Reaction

But the Mexican leader was insistent that her nation had “lack of details” about such a planned incursion, although she acknowledged that in conversations with the US president, he had proposed to dispatch troops and other assistance to confront criminal groups.

“I have repeatedly stated thank you very much, Mr. Trump. But no, Mexico is a independent, sovereign and autonomous country,” Sheinbaum affirmed.

Historical Cooperation and Current Strains

Mexico and the US have long collaborated in addressing cartels, with the United States at times dispatching CIA, armed forces and DEA agents to assist the country's initiatives to fight organized crime.

But the entry of American military into Mexico to directly confront the drug lords, particularly without the nation's agreement, would be an unprecedented move that would almost certainly fracture an already tenuous partnership between the two countries.

Recent Measures and Understandings

The US government has designated addressing criminal organizations a key element of its international strategy: in last winter, the US classified six Mexican cartels as terrorist groups.

Additionally, it has initiated a multiple strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats, most recently targeting ships in the eastern Pacific that resulted in the deaths of multiple suspects in recent weeks.

Although authorities rescued one of the survivors from the attack, Sheinbaum condemned the actions and instructed officials from her government to address them with the American envoy to the nation.

On that day, she also highlighted that Mexico had finalized a security agreement with the US that was negotiated over an extended period.

“We will proceed within this framework of understanding, which has very clear principles … which honors our sovereignty and our territorial integrity.”

The President's Stance on Anti-Narcotics Strategy

The national leader has also seemed cooler on militarised anti-narcotics tactics than her predecessors: on the previous day, she dismissed any modifications to the nation's safety approach despite the recent brutal killing of a mayor in a Mexican state.

“There are demands for military action and war, as occurred with the war on drugs,” she said. “That didn’t work.”