The U.S. president has expressed willingness to conduct strikes in Mexico, citing illicit drug flow from the country.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “should not have refused my help” in fighting criminal cartels in her country, President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on March 13.
Trump was asked about a post he had made earlier about a remark Sheinbaum made at a recent press conference.
The Mexican president said, “It is good that President Trump says publicly that when he has proposed that the U.S. Army enters Mexico, we have said no. Because it is the truth, we have said no. And we proudly continue to say no.”
In response to her comment, Trump said, “I offered to get rid of the cartels in Mexico, and for some reason, she doesn’t want to do that.
“I like her very much. But she should get rid of the cartels because, the cartels are, whether we like it or not, the cartels are running Mexico. We can’t have that.”
Sheinbaum has maintained her stance on U.S. military intervention. “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,” the Mexican President previously said during a press conference in August 2025. “That is ruled out. Absolutely ruled out.”
On Nov. 18, 2025, Sheinbaum again said U.S. strikes against cartels within Mexican territory were “not going to happen.”
This was in reply to Trump when he said, a day earlier to reporters, “Would I want strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) warned in a Feb. 23 interview with Fox that the cartel problem in Mexico has spilled over to the United States, harming Americans and requiring Washington to take action on the matter.
“[Mexicans are] very particular about their sovereignty. And I get that. But if they’re not able to take care of the problem, and it’s spilling over to the United States and killing American citizens, it’s our problem. And we need to do something about it. And fortunately, President [Donald] Trump is willing to take this fight to those cartels,” Cornyn said.
Mexico has long been controlled by the cartels, facilitated by corruption in the government, with many of the government officials being compromised, the lawmaker said.
“But fortunately, President Trump has gotten President Sheinbaum to extradite I think approximately 50 different cartel members to the United States. And I’m glad to see them taking the fight to the cartels in Mexico using U.S.-facilitated intelligence,” Cornyn said.
