Mexico’s president moved to shut down speculation of U.S. troops crossing the border, rejecting reported plans for military action against drug cartels and insisting cooperation will not come at the expense of national sovereignty.
BBC quoted President Claudia Sheinbaum, “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military.” Sheinbaum told reporters on Friday that “We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.” She said any discussions with Washington have not included foreign soldiers operating on Mexican soil, BBC added.
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Citing a secret directive, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump authorized steps to employ U.S. military power against cartels, potentially on foreign territory and at sea.
The New York Times said the order could provide “an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations” against such groups.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an order labeling eight cartels as terrorist entities, six of them based in Mexico, according to prior U.S. statements.
The White House, in a statement to the BBC, did not address the directive directly but said Trump’s “top priority is protecting the homeland.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued for a harder line, saying, “We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organisations, not simply drug dealing organisations.”
Mexico and the United States have intensified joint efforts to curb illegal migration and drug trafficking.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show June crossings at a record low, per BBC.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson recently noted that fentanyl seizures at the border have fallen by more than half, crediting tighter cooperation.
Sheinbaum reiterated that any counter-narcotics collaboration must respect Mexico’s autonomy.
She said authorities were informed an order addressing cartels was forthcoming, but “that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel.”
Earlier this year, she warned that designating cartels as terrorists “cannot be an opportunity for the US to invade our sovereignty.”
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