Mexican president rejects US forces 'invasion' of country
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Claudia Sheinbaum firmly rejects any US military presence in Mexico after Trump ordered the Pentagon to target drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025 (AP)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum firmly rejected any suggestion that American soldiers would take a combat role in her country after learning that President Trump had directed the Pentagon to target drug cartels designated as "terrorist organizations" by the United States.
“The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out,” Sheinbaum stated, adding, “It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no.”
According to The New York Times, the Pentagon's plans for potential action remain unclear, while the order raises legal questions about several issues. It is also uncertain how much advance notice the Mexican government had regarding the directive. While Sheinbaum stated that US officials had informed her and her team that the directive "was coming", three sources familiar with the matter revealed that Mexican officials had been caught off guard.
During her morning news conference, the Mexican president stated that she would review Trump’s order while emphasizing that she had received assurances it would not involve the deployment of US military forces on Mexican soil.
“They need Mexico’s cooperation and they need Mexico’s state and society to be functioning. This isn’t Afghanistan, where the state is broken, and you can do whatever you want as there’s a void,” Arturo Rocha, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official, stated.
“This has always been Mexico’s deepest fear, this constant sense that we could be invaded by the US again,” Rocha said, noting, “It would have major implications in terms of cooperation with the US going forward. The president has been clear that our sovereignty is a redline.”
