Trump tells Mexican president he wants U.S. troops to fight drug cartels

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s person said Saturday that she rejected an connection by President Trump to nonstop U.S. troops into her state to combat cause cartels.

Speaking astatine a nationalist event, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed a study published Friday successful the Wall Street Journal that said that Trump had pressured Mexico to let much U.S. subject engagement successful the cause war.

“It’s true,” Sheinbaum said. She said that connected “some” backstage calls with the American person successful caller months, Trump said: “How tin we assistance you combat cause trafficking? I suggest that the United States Army participate to assistance you.”

Sheinbaum said she rebuffed his proposal, saying: “No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable ... We tin collaborate, we tin enactment together, but with you successful your territory and america successful ours. We tin stock information, but we volition ne'er judge the beingness of the United States Army connected our territory.”

The White House did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Sheinbaum’s account.

Since Trump returned to the White House successful January, his medication has ramped up CIA surveillance drone flights implicit Mexico, formally designated cause cartels arsenic “foreign terrorist” groups and has repeatedly floated the anticipation of deploying troops determination to combat organized crime. He has massed U.S. troops connected the bluish broadside of the U.S. borderline with Mexico to ace down connected unauthorized migration and cause smuggling.

Mexico is “essentially tally by the cartels,” Trump said earlier this year, insisting that the United States should “wage war” against them.

No medication successful modern times has taken specified a militaristic attack to Mexico, a U.S. state that Trump blames for producing the fentanyl that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Trump’s stance upends caller U.S. policy, which emphasized beefing up the regularisation of instrumentality successful Mexico, and stands astatine likelihood with Mexico’s information strategy, which has veered distant from the benignant of fierce cartel confrontations that drove grounds levels of bloodshed.

Trump’s fixation connected organized transgression successful Mexico has enactment Sheinbaum successful a hard position. She has tried to appease him to effort to avert the perchance catastrophic tariffs that helium has threatened unless Mexico cracks down connected fentanyl trafficking. She sent thousands of National Guard troops to fortify the bluish borderline and is transferring dozens of suspected cartel members to the U.S.

But she has besides had to amusement chap Mexicans that she is defending nationalist sovereignty. Since Trump took bureau successful January, nationalism has surged here.

On TikTok, users person demanded a boycott of American products, filming themselves pouring Coca Cola down the drain. Companies person embraced the red, greenish and achromatic of the Mexican emblem successful advertisement campaigns.

Cecilia Sánchez Vidal successful Mexico City and Michael Wilner successful Washington contributed to this report.