Mexico City – The leader of Mexico said on Saturday that she rejected an offer from President Trump to send us troops to her country to combat drug cartels.
During a public event, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed a report that was published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday stating that Trump had put pressure on Mexico to allow more American military involvement in the drug war.
“It’s true,” said Sheinbaum. She said that in some private calls with the American leader in recent months, Trump said: “How can we help you fight the drug trafficking? I suggest that the US army comes in to help you.”
Sheinbaum said she had rejected his proposal and said: “No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable. … We can work together, we can work together, but with you in your territory and ours in ours.
This remains an extremely sensitive subject for Mexicans, given previous military professions by the US and the strong sense of nationalism that resulted
-Gustavo A. Flores-Macías, professor at Cornell University
A statement that was released by the White House on Saturday said that Sheinbaum and Trump had worked closely “to reach the most safe southwest boundary in history”, but it did not immediately comment on her comments about American troops in Mexico.
“The president has been clear that Mexico has to do more, fight these gangs and cartels and the United States are ready to help and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries,” said the statement.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has staged CIA monitoring flights on Mexico, formally designated drug cartels as ‘foreign terrorist’ groups and has repeatedly driven the opportunity to use troops there to fight organized crime. He has milled American troops on the north side of the American border with Mexico to combat non -authorized immigration and drug smuggling.
Mexico is “essentially run by the cartels,” Trump said instantly this year, insistently that the United States should “wage war” to them.
Sheinbaum has rejected the characterization of Trump that Mexico is under cartel domination and has sworn to defend the sovereignty of its country against violations “per country, sea or air”.
But the last comments by the Mexican president confirm that Mexico remains under intense pressure from Washington to accept a greater American involvement in the anti-drug fight, noted Gustavo A. Flores-Macías, professor of the government at Cornell University.
“This remains an extremely sensitive subject for Mexicans, given previous military professions by the US and the strong sense of nationalism that resulted,” wrote Flores-Macías via e-mail.
That gives Sheinbaum “little room to maneuver” while Trump continues to insist on sending American troops south of the border. “The Mexican government would be wise to take the threat of Unilateral American strikes against the cartels very seriously, while it makes it clear to the White House that the costs in terms of the economy, safety and migration would be steep,” Flores-Macias wrote.
Unilateral American strikes, experts, say that Mexico is obliged to take retaliation measures, such as cutting back on bilateral cooperation on important issues such as safety and immigration. American attacks that result in civilian casualties can even force Mexico to break diplomatic ties with his most important trading partner.
No administration in modern times has chosen such a militarist approach to Mexico, an ally of the US who blames Trump for producing the fentanyl that hundreds of thousands of Americans killed.
Trump’s position increases the recent American policy, which emphasized the reinforcement of the rule of law in Mexico, and is contrary to the safety strategy of Mexico, which is away from the type of fierce cartel confrontations that record levels of bloodshed.
Trump’s fixation on organized crime in Mexico has brought Sheinbaum into a difficult position. She tried to appease him to try to avert the potential catastrophic rates he has threatened, unless Mexico breaks on fentanyl trade. She sent thousands of National Guard troops to strengthen the northern border and transfers dozens of suspected cartel members to the US
But she also had to show colleague -Mexicans that she defends national sovereignty. Since Trump took office in January, nationalism has risen here.
Users have demanded a boycott of American products on Tiktok and film themselves that Coca Cola pours into the drain. Companies have embraced the red, green and white of the Mexican flag in advertising campaigns.
An American unilateral attack, some fear, could bring Mexican politics back to the Gringo-Bashing tendency that was once about Mexican politicians. But the official dumping in the United States has generally decreased in recent years, because economic, cultural and other American Mexico tires have been strengthened and millions of Mexicans have emigrated to the United States.
Transmissions to Mexico from people of Mexican descent in the United States are now more than $ 60 billion annually, consisting of an important pillar of the Mexican economy.
Patrick J. McDonnell and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Michael Wilner in Washington contributed to this report.
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