Mexican President Says No to U.S. Troops, Despite Mounting Pressure to Stop Cartels

The U.S. government continues to pressure Mexico into allowing military forces to enter the country and target drug cartel labs and key figures. Despite the mounting pressure, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum continues to oppose the move, claiming to stand for national sovereignty.

Opposition leaders claim that the Mexican president is simply trying to protect politicians and criminal organizations that helped her get into power — a move that placed her in a difficult situation where she is trying to appease two opposing sides.

In recent days, Sheinbaum said repeatedly that U.S. attacks on cartels in Mexico are not an option under her administration.

A new report from the New York Times revealed that since then, the pressure from the U.S. government has increased on the issue of having U.S. troops operate in Mexico. The article claims that the U.S. government is looking at having military troops or CIA agents work with their Mexican counterparts in active raids in Mexico. The report also mentions the possible use of drones to target fentanyl and other drug production labs in Mexico.

Despite the report from the Times, Sheinbaum continues to claim that no U.S. troops will take action against cartels in Mexico. This week, Sheinbaum spoke with journalists about a phone call she had with U.S. President Donald J. Trump, during which they discussed the cartel issue and how they will approach it. Sheinbaum claimed they would focus on cooperation between the two countries, including the sharing of intelligence and coordination of operations. Sheinbaum flatly stated that U.S. troops would not be operating on Mexican soil.

The issue gained much relevance in the days following the successful arrest of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, who is currently facing various federal drug charges in the United States. As Breitbart Texas reported, in the aftermath of the raid, Trump stated that something must be done about Mexico, adding that drug cartels were the ones really controlling the country.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.