Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected Donald Trump’s threats to authorise strikes or send troops into Mexico, saying Mexico will not ask for or accept foreign military intervention. She warned that U.S. intervention has a historical precedent in the 19th‑century Mexican–American War and reiterated her repeated refusals. The remarks come as the U.S. deploys the USS Gerald R. Ford near Venezuela and reports it has destroyed 21 suspected drug-smuggling vessels since September, with at least 83 reported fatalities. Analysts say the moves are intended both to curb drug flows and to apply regional pressure.
Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Threats of Strikes in Mexico: “We Do Not Want Intervention”
Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected Donald Trump’s threats to authorise strikes or send troops into Mexico, saying Mexico will not ask for or accept foreign military intervention. She warned that U.S. intervention has a historical precedent in the 19th‑century Mexican–American War and reiterated her repeated refusals. The remarks come as the U.S. deploys the USS Gerald R. Ford near Venezuela and reports it has destroyed 21 suspected drug-smuggling vessels since September, with at least 83 reported fatalities. Analysts say the moves are intended both to curb drug flows and to apply regional pressure.
11:44 PM, 11/18/2025Politics
Mexico’s president firmly rebuffs U.S. threats of military action
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Tuesday again dismissed threats by U.S. leader Donald Trump to authorise strikes or send troops into Mexico to target drug cartels, telling reporters bluntly: “It’s not going to happen.”
The comments came after Trump said he could approve strikes inside Mexico to stop drug trafficking, adding, “Would I want strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,” and that he was “not happy with Mexico,” claiming U.S. authorities keep Mexican drug corridors “under major surveillance.”
Sheinbaum: “We are not going to ask for it because we do not want intervention from any foreign government.”
Sheinbaum noted that U.S. officials later said any intervention would require Mexico’s consent, but she emphasised that Mexico will not solicit or accept foreign military intervention. She invoked history as a warning, pointing to the 19th-century Mexican–American War and saying, “The last time the United States came to intervene in Mexico, they took half of the territory.”
Sheinbaum, who assumed office a few months before Trump returned to the White House, has received praise for a calm but firm approach to relations with Washington under intense pressure. Earlier this month she publicly denied reports that U.S. troops would be sent into Mexico, saying she had repeatedly rejected similar offers and stressing, “We do not agree with any process of interference or interventionism.”
Despite Mexico’s refusal, Trump continues to press Mexico — the United States’ largest trading partner — to do more to curb drug flows and migration across the shared border. In an October remark he praised Sheinbaum personally while also asserting that “Mexico is run by the cartels.”
Separately, the U.S. has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela. U.S. officials say the deployment is intended to disrupt drug trafficking into the United States; they also report the U.S. military has destroyed 21 vessels suspected of transporting drugs since September and that at least 83 people have died in those operations.
Many analysts view the buildup as a twofold pressure tactic: to stem narcotics flows and to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after contested elections. Observers contend the administration’s rhetoric and deployments signal a tougher posture toward parts of Latin America.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio commented on the approach, saying that some countries are cooperating “enthusiastically” and will be rewarded, while others will face pressure as the administration seeks to protect perceived U.S. interests.