Last Wednesday, the United States government officially declared six Mexican cartels as "terrorists." In response, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated that she does not fear a possible invasion from the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and emphasized that no harm to the sovereignty of the country will be accepted.
Sheinbaum spoke out against the extraterritorial actions that could arise from this decree and rejected Trump’s accusations that Mexico is governed by drug cartels. The Mexican leader assured that her government defends sovereignty and that any violation of it will be confronted by the Mexican people.
Amid the controversy, the topic of CIA drone flights in Mexican territory to spy on organized crime arose, which had been mentioned by Trump as part of a possible intervention. Sheinbaum stated that she will not allow national sovereignty to be compromised and dismissed media accusations of weakness from U.S. outlets, asserting that sovereignty is non-negotiable for her government.
The U.S. blacklist includes the Sinaloa, Jalisco New Generation, United Cartels, Northeast, Gulf, and the new Michoacana Family cartels. Sheinbaum defended her administration's security strategy by claiming that it is already yielding positive results, such as the decrease in homicides in January 2025, which was the lowest in the last eight years.
Regarding the CIA drone flights, Sheinbaum affirmed that they are part of a long-standing cooperation and coordination between both governments aimed at locating illegal drug laboratories. The drones used are unarmed, according to reports from media outlets like The New York Times and CNN, although they could be equipped with payloads in the future.
