Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected any possibility of U.S. military intervention in her country following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump signed a secret directive authorizing the use of force against foreign drug cartels.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sheinbaum stressed, “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”
The New York Times reported that Trump had signed the directive earlier this year, providing what it described as “an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations” against cartels both at sea and on foreign soil. This move follows an executive order formally designating eight drug cartels six of them Mexican as terrorist organizations.
While the White House did not confirm the directive, it stated that Trump’s “top priority is protecting the homeland.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the terrorist designation, saying it would enable Washington to pursue cartels through intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense. “We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organisations, not simply drug dealing organisations,” Rubio said on Thursday.
Sheinbaum revealed that her government was informed in advance of an order targeting the cartels, but was assured it “had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel.” She reiterated that any suggestion of U.S. boots on Mexican soil had always been rejected outright.
Earlier this year, Sheinbaum warned that such terrorist designations should “not be an opportunity for the U.S. to invade our sovereignty.”
Despite the tension over the directive, cooperation between the two nations has recently yielded results. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, June recorded the lowest border crossings on record. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson also announced that fentanyl seizures at the border have dropped by more than half.
In a post on X, Johnson credited the leadership of both Sheinbaum and Trump, saying their collaboration had left cartels “going bankrupt” and made both countries safer.
The dispute now highlights a delicate balancing act: confronting violent cartels while maintaining respect for national sovereignty.
