Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that U.S. counterpart Donald Trump suggested sending troops to her country to combat criminal organizations but she again rejected the possibility.
Speaking during her daily press conference, Sheinbaum addressed the phone call she held with Trump earlier in the day. She said that, asides from rejecting allowing U.S. troops in the country, she told Trump that organized crime can’t be equated to terrorism and Mexico rejects any action that amounts to an intervention in the country.
“He understood, he was very kind,” Sheinbaum said during a passage of the conference. She added that Trump recognized her administration’s work in matters of security but noted that more can be done. “What’s important is continue maintaining respect and collaboration,” Sheinbaum added.
Sheinbaum had already addressed the call in a social media publication, in which she said the conversation was “very good.”
Tuvimos una muy buena conversación con el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump. Hablamos de distintos temas, incluyendo la seguridad con respeto a nuestras soberanías, la disminución del tráfico de drogas, el comercio y las inversiones. La colaboración y la cooperación en… pic.twitter.com/u0aNcSINtF
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) January 12, 2026
“We discussed different topics, including security with regards to our sovereignties, the decrease in drug-trafficking, trade and investment. Collaboration and cooperation in a context of mutual respect always yield results,” she added.
The call took place days after Trump threatened in an interview to “start hitting land with regards to the cartels.” “Cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News last week.
The remark was quickly dismissed by Sheinbaum, who recently told Bloomberg “I don’t believe in an invasion; I don’t think it’s something they take seriously.” She went on to say that Trump has repeatedly requested U.S. military forces be allowed into Mexico, and she has always rejected the possibility.
However, a recent report from The New York Times noted that Mexican officials have grown increasingly alarmed about potentially having its territory targeted by the U.S. following the operation that ended with the capture of Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro.
An official told the outlet that the operation made them think “oh boy, this is more serious than we thought, and we are on the list of who could be next, and worse, we have been warned.”
Elsewhere in the report, officials noted that they have had to rethink their criticism of the U.S. operation that captured Maduro due to the possibility that it could help trigger Trump.
Originally published on Latin Times
