President Trump has deployed military might to fight drug cartels, blowing up dozens of alleged smugglers at sea and helping Ecuador bomb an apparent criminal training camps.
In recent days he announced the formation of a “brand-new military coalition” of mostly right-wing governments from across the Americas that, he said, are united in “a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks.”
“We need your help,” he told regional leaders gathered Saturday at his golf club outside Miami. “Just tell us where they are.”
Read more: Inside El Mencho’s last hideout: Blood, bullets and a cartel boss’ life of luxury
On Monday, Mexico’s leader suggested Washington should focus on other steps: Containing the voracious American appetite for illicit drugs, and combating illegal arms trafficking.
“If the flow of illegal weapons from the United States into Mexico were stopped, these groups wouldn’t have access to this type of high-powered weaponry to carry out their criminal activities,” President Claudia Sheinabum said at her daily news conference, citing a statistic from the U.S. Department of Justice that 75% of guns used by criminal groups in Mexico were smuggled from the United States.
Sheinbaum — whose stated strategy has been to keep a “cool head” in the face of Trump’s repeated verbal broadsides — was responding to a question about Trump’s latest threats to deploy military assets against cartels in her country. Trump made the threat while speaking at a meeting of the newly inaugurated “Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.”
The confab featured some of Trump’s favored right-wing leaders, such as President Javier Milei of Argentina and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.
Not invited were the left-wing presidents of Latin America’s three most populous nations, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
President Trump signs a proclamation committing to countering cartel criminal activity at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Fla., on Saturday. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
During his speech, Trump took special aim at Sheinbaum, mocking the Mexican president’s steadfast refusal of direct U.S. military assistance, which she says would violate Mexico’s sovereignty.
Trump first praised Sheinbaum — “She’s got a beautiful voice, a beautiful woman” — but then adopted a falsetto tone to mimic her: “President. President. President,” he said. “No. No. No. Please president.”
“We must recognize [that] the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico,” Trump continued. “The Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere. And the United States government will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security and protect the safety of the American people.”
The comments were among the strongest to date about Mexico from Trump, who has previously said Mexico is “run” by drug traffickers and that Sheinbaum is “so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think.”
Mexico is both a major corridor for South American cocaine headed for U.S. markets and a production zone for fentanyl, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs smuggled into the United States.
Read more: One town’s day of terror after the killing of Mexican cartel boss ‘El Mencho’
Responding in part to U.S. pressure, Mexico has launched a broad crackdown in the last year or so, arresting hundreds of trafficking suspects, destroying clandestine drug labs and handing over scores of alleged cartel operatives to U.S. authorities. Last month, Mexico killed one of Mexico’s major drug kingpins, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” during a raid at his mountain hideout.
Sheinbaum, when asked about Trump’s comments over the weekend, said she appreciated that he accurately reflected her refusal to allow the U.S. military inside Mexico. She displayed no rancor about Trump’s mocking tone and signaled her continued support of cooperation and shared intelligence with Washington — but not direct U.S. strikes.
More helpful than military aid, she said, would be enhanced efforts in the United States to combat addiction.
“There’s a very important aspect that needs to be addressed, which is reducing drug use in the United States,” she said.
Sheinbaum also pointed out that the U.S. has its own problem with drug production, adding a reference to the Netflix series “Breaking Bad,” about a high school teacher in Albuquerque who cooks and sells methamphetamine.
“Yes, there is drug production in the United States as well,” Sheinbaum said. “So much so that they even make television series about it.”
Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
