President Felipe Calderón was an exception in his attempt to confront Mexican cartels, although his efforts did not receive support from U.S. priorities at that time. Donald Trump, on the other hand, during his inauguration in January 2023, issued two executive orders declaring a national emergency at the border with Mexico and classified drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
According to Trump's executive order, the cartels operate in certain parts of Mexico as if they were governmental entities, controlling various aspects of society, putting the security of Americans at risk. President Claudia Sheinbaum responded by stating that they would defend their sovereignty and independence in the face of that declaration.
In February 2025, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, retweeted a message about Trump's tariff threats to Mexico and their repercussions in the fight against fentanyl trafficking. Musk expressed his doubt about the possibility of defeating Mexican cartels without the intervention of U.S. Special Operations.
In another instance, Republican Congress members such as Dan Crenshaw and Michael Waltz proposed in 2023 that the U.S. military enter Mexico to combat drug cartels due to the fentanyl overdose death crisis in the U.S. William Barr, who was Attorney General during Trump's first term, supported the proposal stating that Mexican cartels have thrived due to the unwillingness of Mexican administrations to confront them.
