Sheinbaum Responds to Trump: Mexico Is Not Afraid of the Cartels

• Sheinbaum responds to Trump and denies fear of drug cartels
• Trump offers help to Mexico
• Sheinbaum insists on cooperation without submission

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied on Wednesday that her administration fears drug cartels, pushing back on claims made by US President Donald Trump, who offered “help” to combat them.

“No. They have their way of communicating. What we’ve always said—and will always maintain—is our principle, our conviction, and, more importantly, the way it must be to protect our nation and the people of Mexico: there is coordination, there is collaboration, information is shared—but without subordination,” Sheinbaum stated.

The Mexican leader made the remarks during her morning press conference, responding to Trump’s Tuesday interview with Fox News, in which he asserted that the Mexican government is “very, very afraid of the cartels,” claiming they control an estimated 40% of the country’s territory.

“I must say, the relationship is very good, and we want to help her, and we want to help Mexico, because you can’t govern a country like that. You simply can’t,” Trump said in the interview.

Sheinbaum Highlights US-Mexico Cooperation Without Intervention or Loss of Sovereignty

Commenting on the offered assistance, Sheinbaum noted that “in the United States, they always want to intervene more—but that’s not new, it’s always been the case. It depends heavily on the president in office to set limits on their activity in Mexico.”

She recalled that her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018–2024), reformed the National Security Law to restrict the presence of foreign agents. She also clarified that US surveillance flights this year over Mexican territory to monitor drug traffickers have only taken place at Mexico’s request.

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“They always want to help more, but there’s dialogue. It’s not that they act on their own and carry out operations without coordination. No. There is dialogue, and it’s a good one—between the Defense Secretariat and the Navy with their US counterparts,” she said.

Sheinbaum emphasized that security cooperation occurs “with respect and without subordination, and operations on Mexican soil are always carried out by Mexican forces.”

Trump’s Pressure Over Security: Sheinbaum Responds

Her remarks come amid growing pressure from Trump over Mexico’s internal security. The Mexican government recently deployed 10,000 members of the National Guard to the shared border. Since February 5, they’ve detained 2,481 individuals and seized over 26.7 tons of drugs—including 163.3 kilograms of fentanyl.

“So far, there has been good understanding. There hasn’t been anything we haven’t agreed on. And they know where we stand,” Sheinbaum affirmed.

Trump has officially designated six Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations: the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, and the United Cartels.

SOURCE: EFE