Sheinbaum Rejects U.S. Offer to Help Combat Drug Cartels

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico says that the use of U.S. forces to take out criminal drug cartels operating inside Mexico has been “ruled out”, following a 15-minute phone conversation with President Trump on Monday.

President Trump, in an interview with FOX News on Wednesday, issued another threat towards the cartels, warning the Mexican government, “We are gonna start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico”, the U.S. president stated to the channel’s news host, Sean Hannity.

Since assuming the White House in January of 2025, President Trump has repeatedly offered to Mexican authorities to put U.S. forces on-the-ground in Mexico as part of the administration’s campaign to reduce the flow of illicit narcotics into the United States.

Earlier in the year, the Pentagon deployed an array of military assets in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, conducting targeted strikes on suspected drug vessels transporting large quantities of narcotics by lucrative sea transit routes, killing dozens of people.

During Monday’s phone call, Sheinbaum said that Trump “insisted that if we ask for it, they could help”, referring to U.S. military support to combat the country’s armed drug trafficking organizations. Sheinbaum rejected the offer of support, stating during a morning press briefing:

“We told him, so far it’s going very well, it’s not necessary, and furthermore there is Mexico’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and he understood.”

Mexico’s Sheinbaum also stated that additional subjects were discussed, writing: “We spoke about various topics, including security with respect for our sovereignties, reducing drug trafficking, trade, and investments.”

The Mexican president has remained one of Latin America’s staunchest critics of Washington’s new narco war in the region, and expressed opposition to the U.S. strikes on Caracas that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Prior to the U.S. Jan. 3 operation in Venezuela, Sheinbaum denounced any possible U.S. intervention in Latin America, urging the U.N. to intervene to “prevent any bloodshed.”

During the president’s press briefing in Mexico City, Sheinbaum also shared that Trump “asked me my opinion about what they had done in Venezuela and I told him very clearly that our constitution is very clear, that we do not agree with interventions and that was it,” she said.