Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed reports that the U.S. is preparing to send troops into Mexico to fight cartels, saying she has refused such offers and that any intervention would violate Mexico's sovereignty. An NBC News report said early planning and training may have begun and that CIA officers could be involved; Sheinbaum said Mexico has no information about an incursion. She reaffirmed commitment to a negotiated security framework and rejected renewed militarization as ineffective.
Sheinbaum Rejects U.S. Plans to Send Troops to Mexico: "It's Not Going to Happen"
Sheinbaum Rejects U.S. Troop Incursion: "It's Not Going to Happen"
Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, firmly denied media reports that the United States plans to send troops into Mexico to confront powerful drug cartels, saying she has repeatedly turned down similar offers from President Donald Trump.
"It's not going to happen," Sheinbaum said at her daily morning press briefing. "We do not agree with any process of interference or interventionism."
Her remarks followed an NBC News report citing current and former U.S. officials that the Trump administration had begun planning an operation that could deploy U.S. troops and intelligence personnel to Mexico. The report said early training has started and that discussions are underway about the mission's scope, with CIA officers expected to participate under the authority of the U.S. intelligence community.
Sheinbaum insisted Mexico had "no information" about any planned incursion, though she acknowledged that during telephone conversations Mr. Trump had offered troops and other assistance to tackle organized crime. "I've always said thank you very much, President Trump. But no, Mexico is a free, independent and sovereign country," she added.
The two countries have a long history of cooperation on drug‑trafficking investigations; the U.S. has at times provided CIA, military and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel to support Mexican operations. Still, deploying U.S. troops on Mexican soil to confront cartels — especially without Mexico's consent — would be unprecedented and could seriously damage an already fragile bilateral relationship.
"We are going to continue working within this framework of understanding, which has very clear principles ... which respects our sovereignty and our territoriality," Sheinbaum said, referring to a security agreement negotiated between the two governments.
The Trump administration has made confronting drug‑trafficking organizations a central pillar of its policy: in February it designated six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Washington has also struck suspected trafficking vessels, most recently in the eastern Pacific, in an operation that reportedly killed 14 alleged traffickers in late October. Mexico rescued one survivor; Sheinbaum condemned the strike and instructed officials to raise the matter with the U.S. ambassador.
Sheinbaum has signalled a cooler stance toward heavily militarized anti‑narcotics tactics than some predecessors. In the wake of the brutal killing of a mayor in western Mexico, she rejected calls to change the country's security strategy, warning that "militarization and war, as happened with the war on drugs, didn't work."
Regardless of U.S. planning reported in the media, the Mexican president emphasized that any cooperation must respect Mexican sovereignty and proceed through agreed diplomatic channels.
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