President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted this Sunday that “it is not an option” for a possible U.S. intervention in Mexican territory. Her statements to the media during her visit to Hidalgo come after U.S. President Donald Trump stated: “something will have to be done with Mexico” and the domestic drug crisis, following the military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Asked if Mexico's foreign policy towards Washington could change, Sheinbaum maintained that it would not and framed the relationship as a “moment of collaboration” on various issues, especially security. “They (the U.S. Government) already know that is not an option for us (the Mexican Government), but we are collaborating,” the head of state stated. The official proposed the principle of “shared responsibility” in the fight against drug trafficking and violence as the axis of the bilateral agenda. In this regard, she pointed out that Mexico acts to prevent and address insecurity and violence, as well as to prevent drugs from reaching the United States, while the U.S. government must curb the trafficking of weapons to Mexico and combat the criminal networks that operate on its territory. “The most important thing is shared responsibility (...), they must also prevent weapons from reaching Mexico and combat the organized crime that operates in the United States themselves,” she added. A day earlier, in Tlaxcala, Sheinbaum condemned the intervention in Venezuela and reiterated that Mexico is guided by the Estrada Doctrine and the constitutional principles of non-intervention and peaceful settlement of disputes, invoking the framework of the United Nations Charter. “Collaboration, coordination, but not subordination.” Hours earlier, the governments of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Spain issued a joint statement rejecting “the military actions carried out unilaterally in Venezuelan territory” during which Maduro and Flores were detained, warning that they contravene international law principles and increase risks to the civilian population and regional security. In this context, Sheinbaum reiterated that communication with Washington is maintained and that Mexico will continue to cooperate on security under the criteria of coordination and respect for sovereignty, while the region seeks to channel the Venezuelan crisis through diplomatic and multilateral means.
