President Donald Trump issued a strong response after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected his offer to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help fight against cartels.
While addressing reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he proposed the idea of sending American troops to deal with the Mexican cartels facilitating drug trafficking, and criticized Sheinbaum for refusing his offer.
“She’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk … And I think she’s a lovely woman. The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight,” Trump said.
His harsh rebuke came after Sheinbaum confirmed that Trump pressured her in a call last month to allow the U.S. military to play a larger role in taking on drug cartels in Mexico.
Sheinbaum said she told Trump at the time that Mexico would “never accept” a U.S. military presence.
“No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable,” Sheinbaum claimed to have said. “We can collaborate. We can work together, but with you in your territory and us in ours. We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory.”
Trump said American troops are needed to slow the amount of fentanyl being brought into the U.S. by drug cartels.
“They are bad news,” Trump said Sunday, referring to the cartels. “If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it. I told her that I would be honored to go in and do it. The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They’re evil.”
Earlier this month, President Trump signaled he’s getting closer to potentially targeting cartels with drone strikes. (RELATED: Trump Ready To Launch Drone Strikes At Mexican Cartels)
President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Mexico has refused to rule out unilateral U.S. military action. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly warned Mexican officials privately about that possibility. Both have said “all cards are on the table” when it comes to combating the cartels.
Unilateral U.S. military actions inside Mexico without the government’s consent would arguably violate international law, but both Democratic and Republican administrations have argued that the U.S. has a right to act against threats within a country that cannot control its own security.
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