Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Saturday that she had rejected a proposal from US President Donald Trump to deploy American troops into Mexico to combat drug cartels. Her statement confirmed a report by the Wall Street Journal published a day earlier and was cited by the Los Angeles Times.

During a public event, Sheinbaum addressed recent calls with Trump in which the US president reportedly offered military assistance. “It’s true,” she said, adding, “On some private calls, President Trump said: ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States Army enter to help you'.”

Sheinbaum made it clear that she firmly rejected the proposal, stating: “No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable. 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.”

The statement underscores Sheinbaum's commitment to preserving Mexico's sovereignty while maintaining the potential for diplomatic and intelligence-based cooperation.

According to the Wall Street Journal report dated May 2, Trump made the troop offer during a phone call with Sheinbaum on April 16. He allegedly said that US forces could assist Mexico in the fight against drug cartels, a central issue in Trump’s revived focus on border security and anti-narcotics policies.

However, Sheinbaum's firm stance limits the scope of cooperation to non-military collaboration, such as intelligence sharing and joint strategy development, reinforcing a long-standing resistance in Mexico to foreign troop presence.

10,000 US troops begin arriving at Mexico border

By late last month, the Trump administration’s deployment of 10,000 troops to the southern US border was underway, with soldiers arriving in towns along the frontier on April 16. This military move comes despite a recent decline in unauthorized border crossings. Still, Trump remains committed to his broader plan to militarize the border with Mexico.

These troops are not tasked with apprehending undocumented migrants. Instead, their role is to assist US Border Patrol agents with surveillance, intelligence gathering, and logistical support, serving as an extra set of eyes on the ground.

“We will not be actively on patrols,” said Maj. Jaren Stafani at a press conference. “We'll be at detection and monitoring sites to provide that information to [the] Border Patrol to then go out and do their law enforcement function.”

Maj. Stefani, who leads the deployment in the Big Bend sector of Texas, emphasized that this operation aligns with the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement, with limited exceptions.