President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Mexican President Gloria Sheibaum to allow the US military deeper into the country to help fight against drug cartels.
The issue emerged in a phone call between the two leaders. Trump and Sheinbaum indicated the conversation was productive, but sources told The Wall Street Journal that things became tense when the cartels came up as a topic of discussion.
Tension rose toward the end of a 45-minute telephone conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on April 16 when Trump pushed to have U.S. armed forces take a leading role in battling Mexican drug gangs that produce and smuggle fentanyl to the U.S., the people said. Sheinbaum told Trump her administration would cooperate on matters such as intelligence sharing but not accept a direct military presence, the people added.
Trump has said publicly that the U.S. would take unilateral action if Mexico doesn’t dismantle cartels. “Mexico is very, very afraid of the cartels,” Trump told the Spanish-language network of Fox News shortly after the April 16 conversation. “We want to help her. We want to help Mexico, because you can’t run a country like that. You just can’t.”
Trump and Sheinbaum have said their call was productive. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said robust bilateral cooperation is delivering results and creating a historically secure border.
“But Mexico still must do more to protect Americans from dangerous foreign terrorist organizations and the drugs and violence they flood into communities on both sides of the border,” she said.
Mexican officials said Mexico won’t consent to a U.S. military presence because of the nations’ fraught history, which includes two invasions since 1846.
Sheinbaum has taken a more diplomatic approach in response to Trump’s tariffs. But it appears she draws the line at allowing the US military to ramp up operations in Mexico. She said on April 22 that the Mexican government would not “accept invasions or interference” and that the country is “not a protectorate or colony of any foreign country.”
Sheinbaum is under pressure at home as her administration grapples with a security crisis driven by turf battles between drug cartels across the country. The Trump administration has considered using drones to blow up fentanyl labs or using U.S. Special Forces to capture or kill drug bosses, according to people familiar with bilateral security discussions.
The head of the U.S. Northern Command recently asked Congress for expanded capabilities that would allow U.S. Special Forces to work more closely with Mexican soldiers conducting operations against cartel gunmen. A Mexican official said Mexico wouldn’t allow such an arrangement.
However, Sheinbaum has been willing to work with the White House to curb illegal immigrants and fentanyl smugglers from reaching the southern border. Nevertheless, the fentanyl problem remains, and the Trump administration appears to be getting closer to using military force with or without Sheinbaum’s acquiescence.
NBC News reported last month that drone strikes are on the table, although the president has not made a concrete decision on using them yet.
Discussions among White House, Defense Department and intelligence officials, which are still at an early stage, have included possible drone strikes against cartel figures and their logistical networks in Mexico with the cooperation of Mexico’s government, the sources said.
Still, the administration has made no final decision and reached no definitive agreement about countering the cartels. And unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, has not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort, the sources said. It is unclear whether American officials have floated the possibility of drone strikes to the Mexican government.
At this point, there is no telling whether drone strikes would be an effective measure against drug cartels. But if things continue like this, we might just find out how effective they might be.