Trump again said last week that land attacks against drug cartels would follow recent US maritime operations in the Pacific and Caribbean, without specifying where or when.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she told her US counterpart Donald Trump that any US troop deployment in Mexico was "not on the table," after he hinted at incoming ground attacks against drug cartels.
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"We spoke about various topics, including security with respect for our sovereignties, reducing drug trafficking, trade and investments," Sheinbaum said on social media.
Trump again said last week that land attacks against drug cartels would follow recent US maritime operations in the Pacific and Caribbean, without specifying where or when.
"We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico," Trump said in an interview with broadcaster Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Mexico extradited dozens of cartel leaders to the US in 2025 and reinforced border cooperation, but Sheinbaum has repeatedly voiced opposition to any military intervention from outside.
Trump recently told Mexico it had to "get their act together," following months of pressure over drugs and trade on the United States' southern neighbour.
He said Sheinbaum, whom he met in Washington in December, was a "terrific person" but added he was pushing her to let him send US troops to tackle drug cartels in Mexico, an offer he said she had previously rebuffed.
Since seizing Venezuela's president from Caracas, Trump has also made threats against other leftist governments in the region, including Cuba, Colombia and Mexico.
What would be the target of US anti-cartel operations?
Ground strikes on cartels in Mexico would represent a substantial expansion of US military involvement in the region.
Mexico's two most powerful criminal organisations, the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, control vast territories and have been locked in violent competition that killed more than 30,000 people last year.
Trump designated six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organisations in February 2025, a move Mexico condemned as threatening its sovereignty and potentially justifying military intervention.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed constitutional reforms to strengthen protections against unauthorised foreign operations and has consistently rejected any US military presence on Mexican soil.
Sheinbaum said last Monday that the Americas "do not belong" to any single nation, responding to Trump's assertion of Washington's "dominance" over the hemisphere after Maduro's capture.
Overdoses from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have caused more than 100,000 deaths in the US per year since 2021.
Mexican cartels produce most of the fentanyl entering the US using chemical precursors sourced primarily from China.