Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that Mexico’s efforts to crack down on cartels and slow migration north were showing “compelling results,” in an effort she framed as preventing renewed talk of intervention from the Trump administration.
The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that U.S. forces “will now start hitting land” in Mexico targeting drug cartels, following a U.S. military raid on Venezuela that deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuela raid has unsettled parts of Latin America, according to the reporting, and contributed to concern that Trump could broaden military action beyond Venezuela.
On Thursday night, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente released a joint statement after a phone call, saying they agreed “more must be done to confront shared threats.” Sheinbaum mentioned that call during her morning press briefing on Friday.
Sheinbaum said Mexico’s government has made significant progress cracking down on cartels. She pointed to what she described as a steep drop in the homicide rate, much lower fentanyl seizures by U.S. authorities at the border, and sparse migration, and she said the effort was a joint one with the United States.
“There are very compelling results from the joint cooperation and the work that Mexico has been doing,” Sheinbaum said, attributing the changes to coordinated efforts between the two governments.
Sheinbaum reiterated that the United States should stop arms trafficking into Mexico. She also said drug use in the United States is a key factor fueling cartel violence in Mexico, arguing that the U.S. response should include education and public health steps aimed at addressing demand.
“The other side also has to do its part. This consumption crisis they have over there also has to be addressed from a public health perspective, through education campaigns,” she said.
The reporting also said Sheinbaum and Trump spoke by phone Monday, and Sheinbaum said she again told Trump that U.S. intervention in Mexico was unnecessary.
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