Feb. 25, 2026, 6:55 a.m. MT
Days after violence and unrest unfolded in parts of Mexico, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is looking into taking legal action against Elon Musk over an X post where the billionaire accused the Mexican government of being a “narcogobierno,” or a government controlled by drug traffickers.
Musk made the comments on Feb. 23 in response to a 2025 video in which Sheinbaum said returning to a war on drugs wasn’t an option and said Sheinbaum was “just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say.”
“Let’s just say that their punishment for disobedience is a little worse than a ‘performance improvement plan’ …” his X post said.
Sheinbaum hit back during a Feb. 24 news conference, saying that Musk’s allegations were “absurd” and said, “I don’t know how they make this stuff up. It makes me laugh reading this from the commentators.”
“We are considering whether we take legal action,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “The lawyers are reviewing it. But the truth is, what matters to me is what the people say.”
What happened in Mexico?
The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert on Feb. 22 following the death of the leader of “El Mencho,” a Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who was killed by the Mexican army in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Mexico’s defense ministry said. The raid was conducted in collaboration with intelligence from U.S. authorities.
The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG, as it is known in Spanish, was formed around 2010-2011 from the remnants of the Sinaloa cartel-affiliated Milenio cartel, the DEA reported.
The death of the cartel leader sparked an outbreak of violence, including vehicle burnings and gunmen blocking roadways in more than a dozen states in Mexico.
USA TODAY contributed to this story.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X; natassia_paloma on Instagram, Natassia Paloma on Facebook and natassiapalomanews on TikTok.
