Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday that she flatly rejected a proposal from President Donald Trump to allow American troops into Mexico to combat drug cartels.
Trump pressed Mexico to let U.S. troops lead the fight against drug cartels, but President Sheinbaum refused to allow a military presence, agreeing only to share intelligence, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sheinbaum responded to the Wall Street Journal article and recounted a recent phone call in which Trump offered military assistance to crack down on trafficking operations.
“He said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States military come in and help you.’ And you know what I said to him? ‘No, President Trump,’” Sheinbaum recalled, The Associated Press (AP) reported. “Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.”
White House National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt later released a statement defending Trump’s position, calling for increased collaboration with Mexico.
“Dangerous Foreign Terrorist Organizations, however, continue to threaten our shared security and the drugs and crime they spread threaten American communities across the country,” the statement said, AP reported. “The President has been crystal clear that Mexico must do more do combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries.”
President Trump’s crackdown on drug cartels and his unprecedented pressure on the Mexican government have forced drug lords into retreat. Facing the threat of arrest or death, many cartel operatives have shut down operations and gone into hiding as Mexico steps up efforts against producers of illicit drugs flooding the U.S. border.
Trump launched a sweeping border crackdown on his first day back in office, signing executive orders that sent U.S. troops to the southern border, resumed wall construction, and designated major drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. His administration also expanded a covert drone surveillance program aimed at detecting fentanyl production sites across Mexico.
The effort soon became a joint campaign after Trump threatened steep tariffs on all Mexican imports unless the Sheinbaum government cracked down on illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking. In response, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 national guard troops to her country’s southern border and began coordinating high-profile raids against organized crime.
With the threats of tariffs, Sheinbaum’s forces have already seized roughly 5 tons of methamphetamine, 453 kilos of cocaine, and 55 kilos of fentanyl since early February. Mexican forces seized $40 million worth of meth and extradited 29 cartel leaders to the U.S., including a longtime fugitive tied to a DEA agent’s 1985 murder.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation
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