Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed on Saturday that US President Donald Trump had suggested sending American forces to Mexico to support her administration fight drug smuggling, but that she had rejected it.
Her notes to supporters in eastern Mexico were prompted by a Wall Street Journal article the day before, which described a anxious mobile phone last month where Trump reportedly pressured her to take a bigger part for the US military in the fight against drug cartels there.
” He said,” How can we assist you in combating drug trafficking?” I suggest that you have the American army intervene and assist you. And you are aware of what I said to him? No, Mr. Trump.
She continued,” Sovereignty is not for sale. The rule of law is adored and protected.
James Hewitt, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, stated in a statement later on Saturday that Trump and Mexico’s leader “worked tightly together to achieve the most stable west frontier in history.”
But,” Dangerous Foreign Terrorist Organizations continue to pose a threat to our shared protection, and the drugs and crime they spread harm American populations nationwide,” according to the statement. The President made it abundantly clear that Mexico needs to do more to combat these cartels and groups, and that the United States is prepared to help and strengthen our presently engested partnership.
Following Trump’s directive in January to improve the military’s role in halting the movement of migrants, the US military presence has rapidly increased along its southern border with Mexico in recent months.
The US Northern Command has increased the number of troops and equipment deployed at the boundary, increased guarded surveillance flights to track methadone smuggling along the frontier, and sought more power for US Special Forces to collaborate with Mexican forces to conduct operations against cartels.
On February 19, Trump classified many of the drug gangs and organizations as foreign terrorist organizations, restricting their actions and giving law enforcement more resources to fight them.
But Sheinbaum’s radical position on Saturday sounded like US force had put her and Trump on a motion program after months of working together on immigration and business.
You can work with us, but you are in your own country, and we are theirs, Sheinbaum said.
