Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected the possibility of a US military invasion of Mexico, following reports that Donald Trump authorised the use of force against drug cartels designated as terrorist organisations in Latin America. Speaking at a news conference on Friday, she stated: 'The United States is not going to come to Mexico with their military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there will be no invasion. It's off the table, absolutely off the table.'
Sheinbaum confirmed her government had been informed of the executive order but insisted it 'had nothing to do with the participation of any military or any institution on our territory'. Mexico's foreign ministry later declared it 'would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory', after the US embassy in Mexico issued a statement pledging both countries would use 'every tool at our disposal to protect our peoples' from drug trafficking groups.
The New York Times first reported Trump's secret directive to the Pentagon, citing sources who said the order 'provides an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels'. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move would enable the military to target trafficking organisations, adding: 'We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing organizations.'
Trump has prioritised action against Latin American drug cartels, designating seven organised crime groups as foreign terrorist organisations in February, including five powerful Mexican cartels. The White House claimed these groups posed 'a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime'. The designation widens the range of potential targets for prosecution to include anyone providing 'material support' to the cartels.
The Trump administration has already deployed thousands of active-duty troops, drones and spy planes to the US-Mexico border to crack down on drug and immigrant flows. This latest order marks a significant escalation, potentially allowing unilateral US military operations in the region. Former DEA deputy administrator Jack Riley welcomed the directive, calling it 'the next logical step', but cautioned it may face legal challenges over whether Trump has the authority without congressional approval.
In Mexico, security analysts expressed concern. Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, head of the North American observatory at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, said: 'It's not a welcome development. Beyond the narrative, it seems to me that once again there's been a misdiagnosis of these illicit markets and how we can weaken them.'
