We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,' Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in latest pushback against Trump.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has ruled out any U.S. military “invasion” into Mexico following the Trump administration’s reported plans to use military force against Latin American drug cartels.
"The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military," Sheinbaum said Aug. 8 at her regular morning news conference. "We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out."
Sheinbaum comments are in response to a New York Times report Aug. 8 that President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to target transnational fentanyl traffickers that use Mexico as a base of operations.
The Times said Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force on foreign soil against cartels. In February, the U.S. designated the Sinaloa Cartel and other Mexican drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, which some analysts have warned could be a stepping stone to such military action.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the new directive to Reuters but said military action against the designated groups did not appear imminent and it was unclear exactly what type of operations they would carry out.
Trump has long said publicly that the U.S. would take unilateral military action if Mexico failed to dismantle drug cartels. That has put Washington at odds with its southern neighbor and key trading partner. Sheinbaum, in return, has pushed Trump to do more to stop the flow of high-powered American-made guns from the U.S. into Mexico.
The two leaders have had several calls this year to discuss security issues, trade and immigration.
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