Donald Trump demands Sheinbaum allow military intervention against drug trafficking

Donald Trump demanded President Claudia Sheinbaumallow greater U.S. military presence in Mexico to directly combat organized crime.

The pressure occurred during a call on April 16, revealed by the Wall Street Journal, in which the Republican suggested that U.S. armed forces lead actions against cartels and fentanyl trafficking.

Trump warned that, if operational cooperation is not accepted, his administration will push for economic sanctions against Mexico and tariffs for "complicity". Sheinbaum replied diplomatically: she said she was open to intelligence exchange but categorically rejected foreign military intervention.

In her speech, she defended national sovereignty as an unbreachable limit. She offered no concrete proposals in response to the advancement of drug trafficking. For Washington, cartel control in Mexican territory is already considered a hemispheric security issue, with direct impact on the opioid crisis.

The narco is already terrorism... but only for the U.S.

Since Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG as foreign terrorist organizations, the White House's stance has hardened. U.S. agencies have demanded direct action and tangible results from the Mexican government.

The Mexican government still lacks a clear strategy against drug trafficking. The CJNG, in particular, has been sanctioned with financial blockades, but in Mexico, it continues to operate with impunity. Claudia Sheinbaum has limited herself to "cooperation" speeches, while her administration downplays the power of organized crime in entire regions of the country.

Her refusal of military intervention might seem like a defense of sovereignty, but it also protects the current state of territorial control exercised by the cartels. The previous Democratic administration chose omission; Trump is not willing to repeat that mistake.

Claudia's double discourse: sovereignty for the narco, submission to China

The rejection of foreign militarization contrasts with the structural dependency of the Mexican government on authoritarian regimes like China, with whom it keeps opaque agreements.

When it comes to protecting the country from cartels that massacre civilians, control routes, and corrupt institutions, they speak of sovereignty. But when it comes to commercial alliances with foreign powers without democratic standards, there is "unconditional cooperation".

Trump was clear: if Mexico doesn't act, the U.S. will act alone.

Military pressure at the border and new tariffs are part of that strategy. Claudia Sheinbaum faces an uncomfortable dilemma: safeguard the nationalist narrative or admit that the Mexican State has lost control of the territory.