Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that there will be “no invasion of Mexico” following reports that US President Donald Trump signed a secret directive authorizing the use of military force against Latin American drug cartels. The New York Times reported that Trump’s order provides an official basis for military operations against cartels that his administration has classified as terrorist organizations.
At a regular morning conference, Sheinbaum said, “We were informed that this executive order was coming and that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory.” The Mexican foreign ministry later reinforced this stance, stating that Mexico “would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory.” This follows a statement from the US embassy in Mexico, which affirmed that both countries would use “every tool at our disposal” to protect their populations from drug trafficking groups. US Ambassador Ronald Johnson also took to X to highlight that the countries “face a common enemy: the violent criminal cartels.”
The Pentagon referred all questions regarding the matter to the White House, which has not yet confirmed the order. The Trump administration has designated eight drug trafficking groups as terrorist organizations, six of which are Mexican. Sheinbaum has been making significant efforts to show Trump that her government is actively fighting its cartels, who are blamed for the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States. “We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out,” she said. She also noted that in all discussions with US officials, Mexico has consistently maintained that such an action “is not permitted.”
